Towards a market for ecosystem

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Forest Department has embarked on an initiative with the slogan that planting of saplings is the answer to global warming. It may look a bit simplistic, for deforestation can be blamed for only 20 per cent of the increase in global temperature. The rest is caused by green house gases from vehicle exhausts, thermal plants and other sources which cannot be offset by planting trees.However, Forest Minister Benoy Viswom notes that the attempt is to contribute locally to the fight against global warming. The defence against global warming is research, mitigation and adaptation. Kerala should become a model at the local level. The department has taken up a number of forestry programmes in the past two years. For more than two decades, the department had been carrying out social forestry programmes with generous funding from the World Bank. However, there is hardly any data to show that the green cover of Kerala had improved except for marginal improvement in forest cover. The survival rates of trees planted under the programmes were low.This time, the government tried to net students and trade unions. While the response from the trade unions was poor, students responded enthusiastically at some places. The survival rate of seedling is reportedly better but not very high. This raises the question whether the department should look for innovative concepts or even leave forestry to market forces.Some of the tea estates in the State, which were originally forests, have become unviable. They can be nursed back to forests. The department is already gaining control of some of them either on expiry of leases or taking them over. Carbon credit and market-based approaches can help both workers and afforestation of the estates. Market-based approaches assign economic value to ecosystem services. As a result, ecosystem markets and services are emerging.However, getting carbon credits from UN agencies involves considerable work. An official of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest said that the Ministry would not be able to undertake the paper work. Consultants would have to be appointed. The private sector could be involved in developing the market place and can be assigned to undertake planting of trees. The owners of the estates may be able to undertake their afforestation initiatives. However, appropriate laws need to be developed at the State or national level to regulate the market place.

The Hindu, 20th January 2009