Protecting forest fringes

Why in news?
  • This article suggests how city-forest cooperation can be facilitated.
  • The current trend of fast-paced, spatial urban expansion is increasing the proximity between forests and the cities.
  • In the next 10 years, this situation is likely to pose a severe sustainability challenge.
More in news
  • Problem of urban Neighborhoods:
    (1) Major cities forests have faced the brunt of encroachments, roads and highways resulting into local extinction of wildlife, contamination of water bodies.
    (2) Due to this many more critical wildlife habitats and biodiversity areas are going to face a direct impact from cities in the near term.
    (3) Urbanization close to forests often means that dense neighborhoods expand up to the fringe of the forest
    (4) Despite this disconcerting pattern neither of the ongoing urban programs look ready to tackle this challenge.
  • Prioritizing forest-city proximity:
    (1) City administrators have ignored the fact that forests are natural shock-absorbers that provide green relief to our grey cities.
    (2) Forests shield them from the effects of climate change and aid in urban issues such as air pollution, scarcity of drinking water, flood control and heat islands.
    (3) That is why Prioritizing forest-city proximity will put the onus on cities to incorporate nature in their design.
  • ESZ can be the way:
    (1) Eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) around protected areas hold the key to the place and the process in this regard.
    (2) These zones are strips of land outside national parks and wildlife sanctuaries earmarked by the Ministry of Environment for sustainable management.
    (3) The ESZ committee and its plans fulfil basic conditions to facilitate inter-departmental collaboration of the forest departments, urban bodies and civil society.
  • Way forward:
    (1) In the absence of physical buffers and hard fences these forests will have to be softfenced from unscrupulous development.
    (2) For this, urban masterplans must recognize land use at forest fringes, according to ESZ guidelines.
    (3) Cities should secure wildlife corridors and ‘green belts’ that connect urban forests with a wider natural landscape.
    (4) Urban residents need to create social fences by strongly advocating for forests in their cities.
    (5) Integrating forests with urban planning and governance provides an opportunity to shape cities that not only cater to citizens, but also have the citizens actively involved in shaping the city’s future.
Source
The hindu




Posted by Jawwad Kazi on 13th May 2019
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