Future of forests as ecosystem providers

According to FAO’s (Food and Agricultural Organisation) ‘State of the World’s Forests report (2009)’ a global pattern is emerging in which there is correlation between economic development and the state of the forest.

The countries that have achieved high growth of economic development are able to stabilise or increase their forest area. In contrast, countries like India, which are undergoing rapid economic development, tend to struggle with immense pressure on their forests.

With their economic and financial muscle power they have conserved their forests to provide ecosystem services, while meeting their timber demand from the forest-rich regions of Asia or Latin America. Thus, they have successfully transferred the pressure to poorer countries, causing more harm to indigenous population.
While following the same model of development of high rates of GDP, we have created a huge middle class population that has put tremendous pressure on the existing forests. The expansion of mining in forest areas has threatened the existence of the forest-dwelling tribal population.

GM super trees
At this juncture, international forestry experts at FAO are looking at the future of forests as another source for generating fuel for the automobile sector. After having burnt fingers with the agro fuel and bio-fuel as a panacea to replace oil, the experts have turned their attention on forests to provide alternate source of fuel that is climate friendly and ecologically bennie.

In many developed countries the research is geared towards developing genetically modified super trees that can overcome the slow gestation period with high capacity to produce cellulose fuels. This strategy has the double benefit of producing wood fuel on forest land without any negative impact on agricultural crops as with agro fuel, and the GM trees will have little opposition as in the case of GM food crops.

Nevertheless, there are apprehensions against these giant GM trees. The monoculture plantations might have negative impact on forest bio diversity and for those indigenous forest dependent communities who live in midst of forests. Sunderlal Bahuguna, founder of the Chipko Movement says, “Commercialisation of forests led to destruction of bio diversity and introduction of monoculture plantations. These are not forests but timber mines. Similarly, GM trees would accelerate the process of conversion of existing diverse forests into fuel generating plantations.”

The FAO approach to forest is based on narrow, parochial understanding with commercial use as the main objective. In contrast, the Chipko approach is based on holistic understanding of forests as a source to provide soil, water and air. The impending crisis of global warming and climate change has heightened the need to conserve and raise bio diverse natural forests.

The ecosystem services of forests are no more evident than in case of the national capital Delhi, which depends on Yamuna to meet its water requirement. The water flow in Yamuna is dependent on the forests catchments in Himalayas. Similarly, in the south the Cauvery meets the water requirement of cities like Bangalore, pumping it form a distance of 250 km. The catchments forests for Cauvery river are in Western Ghats. But in the cases of both Delhiates and Bagaloreans, while enjoying the benefits of water of these rivers, they are least interested to pay for the ecosystem services provided by the forests.

It is unfortunate that both the governments and the people have ignored this basic principle of payment for ecosystem services. Ignoring this factor may have long-term negative consequences for the water security in the coming decades. The future of forests is more secure as ecosystem provider, ushering the ecological security for the humanity.