Relevance : GS Paper III
Theme of the Article
How city-forest cooperation can be facilitated.
Why has this issue cropped up?
India is among the fastest urbanizing major countries and forest-rich nations of the world.
The urban expansion and its impact on the Environment
- increasing the proximity between forests and the cities.
- likely to pose a severe sustainability challenge.
- local extinction of wildlife, contamination of water bodies, etc
- direct impact on critical wildlife habitats and biodiversity areas
Are we doing enough to tackle with the urbanization challenge?
- Neither the ‘Smart Cities’, nor the draft of the new Forest Policy, 2018, look ready to tackle this challenge.
- Urban planners and city administrators have ignored the fact that forests are natural shock-absorbers
Way forward
- eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) around protected areas hold the key
- forests will have to be soft-fenced from unscrupulous development.
- urban masterplans must recognize land use at forest fringes
- cities should secure wildlife corridors and ‘green belts’.
- urban residents need to create social fences by strongly advocating for forests in their cities.
Conclusion
Integrating forests with urban planning and governance provides an opportunity to shape cities.
