SC panel redflags gaps in forest value calculation

As development projects continue to threaten forests, an expert committee constituted by the Supreme Court has suggested a new formula to calculate the ecological services of trees while flagging major gaps, including the doctrine of sanctioning projects before getting forest/tree clearance and the 'land for cash' policy that commodifies natural ecosystems.

In March 2021, the court set up a seven-member committee headed by former IAS officer M K Ranjitsinh. The panel was given the mandate of developing a set of scientific and policy guidelines to govern decision-making with respect to cutting of trees for development projects.

The committee's report titled Compensatory Conservation in India: An analysis of science, policy and practice has sought a comprehensive review of the impacts roads, electricity lines and other linear infrastructure cutting through forests, including the protected areas.

The committee consisting of experts in forestry and ecology developed a new formula to calculate the ecological services like air pollution control, soil conservation, carbon stock, water purification as well as NPV which looks into timber, fodder and other benefits.

The panel found that each hectare of forest in the Darjeeling landscape (total 2.37 lakh ha forest), provides ecological service of Rs 6.06 lakh while the NPV per hectare was estimated at Rs 2.13 crore. In the Jharkhand landscape (23.61 lakh ha forest) each hectare provided service worth Rs 4.22 lakh annually while the NPV was estimated at Rs 1.49 crore.

The study assessed reports by the Central Empowered Committee and the Indian Institute of Forest Management before making recommendations for a robust method to assess the value of trees.

"One should avoid the total economic value (which consists of use and non-use values) estimation," the report cautioned, noting that non-use values are intangible. "For instance, we can't measure the value of the sacred groves to a community," the member explained.

India started thinking of the net present value (NPV) of forests in 2006, thanks to an apex court-appointed committee headed by Kanchan Choptra. "At the time, the NPV was seen as a state-of-the-art tool. But ecological economics and science have galloped miles ahead since then. We could now see serious gaps in the way we assess the value of the forest," a member of the committee told DH.

The latest report has advocated the need to update the ecosystem services and the methods of valuation every five years to adopt emerging scientific insights. "The value of forests should be calculated at each state or region to come up with baseline data. This will help people understand what's at stake when forests are diverted," the member added.

Govt told to respond

The committee recommended that a permanent regulatory body should be set up to review policy and practices pertaining to environmental laws.

It pointed to the findings by the Comptroller and Auditor General which found that against the receivable non-forest land of 1.03 lakh hectare, only 28,086 hectares was received between 2006 and 2012. The compensatory afforestation was an abysmal 7% of the land which ought to have been received.

"The Supreme Court has told the Union government to respond to the committee's report," a source said.