Satellites to be launched to monitor green cover

The Environment and Forests Minister, Mr Jairam Ramesh, has said that by 2012-end India would launch ‘forestry satellite' to monitor the country's green cover on real-time basis.

Addressing the brainstorming session on Green India Mission (GIM) here on Saturday, Mr Ramesh said GIM will bring an opportunity for revolutionising the country's system of monitoring its green cover. GIM is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.

The Minister said a family of forestry satellites dedicated to monitor the country's green cover on real time basis would be launched soon and that the Indian Space Research Organisation is working towards it.

Mr Ramesh suggested monitoring on the lines of the Brazilian model, which is based on real-time monitoring instead of expenditure monitoring, adding that it is absolutely essential.

He said, “The target is to increase 5 million hectares of forest and non-forest land and improve quality of forest cover on another 5 million hectares of non-forest lands. Over the next ten years it will be 10 million hectares.”

The Minister recalled that late Prime Minister Mr Rajiv Gandhi had launched the project in January, 1985 to bring 5 million hectares of waste land under green cover every year. “We are far behind from the original objective. We should work on realistic and credible targets and achieve them,” he added.

GIM recognises that climate change phenomena will seriously affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources of the country and the associated livelihoods of the people. GIM acknowledges the influences that the forestry sector has on environmental amelioration though climate mitigation, food security, water security, biodiversity conservation and livelihood security of forest dependent communities, an official statement said.

Mr Ramesh said the implementation of programmes is by Gram Sabhas with the technical and managerial support of the forest service personnel, but the money will directly go to Gram Sabhas and not to forests departments.

The restructured Joint Forest Management Committees will play an important role in this, he said, adding that the need is to ensure that the programmes should be seen as a programme of local elected bodies in which forest Department will play a very important role.

Mr T. Chatterji, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests said, “GIM goes beyond mere plantation. It encompasses the restoration of degraded zones. The programme is people oriented. This programme will train community youth to maintain and take forward the fruits of investments in this Mission.”

“Around 13,000 vacancies in forest areas will be filled by the States soon,” he added.