Forest managers, development specialists and scientists from India and the US will join together in an attempt to protect the forests in India, especially the green canopy in the states of Kerala, Bihar and Telangana.
Aimed at strengthening the ecosystem-based management of forests in the three states, the Ministry of Forest and the United States Agency for International Development officially launched Forest plus 2 last week. As part of the joint initiative, Forest 2 plus also envisages including ecosystem in landscape management and enhancing economic opportunities.
Forest plus 2 that was initiated in December 2018 is the second in line after Forest Plus that lasted till 2017. At the launch of the great initiative, Acting Mission Director of USAID/India Keith E Simmons hoped that the programme would help in improving the forest management system in the states that have been chosen.
Forest plus 2 is a five-year programme that would look into the landscapes of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Medak in Telangana and Gaya in Bihar. Ass per the programme, the target is to bring 1.20 lakh hectares of land under improved management. Apart from enhancing economic activity worth 12 million dollars, providing benefits to about eight lakh households also come under the programme.
As part of achieving the target, the programme focuses on three main mechanisms — Developing Tools for Forest management for various Services, Market-Based programmes for enhancing Finance and providing Economic Opportunities.
