The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act of 2023 has garnered significant attention and become a prominent topic of discussion in recent times. To enhance comprehension and provide deeper insights into the Act, the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal with the support of National Law Institute University, Bhopal organized a one-day sensitization workshop on September 27, 2023 at IIFM, Bhopal.
The theme for the workshop was "Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 and Compensatory Conservation Regimes: Emerging Legal Scenarios".
The workshop was attended by about 200 participants including Environmentalists, Civil Societies, Corporates, Forest Officials, Scientists, Officials from other departments and students from various academic institutions including Law University.
The Chief Guest for the workshop was Subhash Chandra, IFS, CEO, CAMPA, MoEFCC, New Delhi and K Ravichandran, IFS, Director, IIFM; Pankaj Agrawal, IFS, APCCF, Madhya Pradesh; A.K. Sinha, IFS, Deputy Director General, Integrated Regional Office, MoEFCC, Bhopal; Shri BS Annigeri, IFS, APCCF (IT), Madhya Pradesh; Vikas Gahlot, NLSIU, Bengaluru; and Prof. Rajiv Kumar Khare from NLIU, Bhopal were the distinguished speakers.
Subhash Chandra, IFS, CEO, CAMPA, MoEFCC, Govt of India in his inaugural address highlighted the need for bringing out the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the various features viz., applicability of the Act, the exceptions, main provisions, the activities that do not fall under the purview of the non-forest activities and power to issue directions etc. He also highlighted the importance of organizing such sensitization workshops in bringing about a better understanding and appreciation of the various provisions of the Act for the larger benefit of the stakeholders.
Highlighting the important developments in 1970s and 1980s, including the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, Shri Pankaj Agrawal, IFS, APCCF, Madhya Pradesh explained the various provisions of Indian Forest Conservation Act and also the reasons for amendment.
He gave a detailed account on the FC (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the list of activities that do not qualify as non-forestry activities. He also provided information on the accredited compensatory afforestation scheme which can help increase the forest and tree cover in the country.In his address, K. Ravichandran, Director, IIFM mentioned that the preamble introduced in the act highlighted two important things, Forestry, India’s International Commitments and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and reflected within the domestic legislature.
Secondly, the target of achieving one-third of country’s land to be brought under forest and tree cover as envisaged in the National Forest Policy is now reflected in the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Act, 2023. He further stated that the Amendment Act has brought out the clarity regarding the applicability of the Act. He emphasized that the inclusion of eco-tourism in this Act is significant, as it not only contributes to conserving our natural heritage but also promotes community participation. The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act of 2023 aims to promote agro-forestry activities and strives to strike a balance between the conservation of forest resources and the developmental needs of the nation.
