The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an official development assistance (ODA) loan agreement with the Government of India to provide fund for works aimed at improving the forest ecosystems and means of livelihood in Uttarakhand. The ODA loan agreement with the Government of India to provide 11,390 million Japanese Yen will fund various projects including those aimed at ecological restoration, livelihood improvement, community development and institutional capacity development along with disaster management covering aspects including erosion control and sediment, disaster mitigation, restoration of forest roads and building evacuation shelters.
According to official sources, JICA has also provided consulting services for procurement and fund management. The support extended by JICA will be used towards facilitating the restoration of 37,500 hectares of forest land in 750 selected village Panchayats and generation of livelihood opportunities as part of this project. The executing agency for the project will be Forest Department, Government of Uttarakhand and the operation and maintenance system will be handled by the forest department along with the community organisatioans.
According to information provided, India’s forest coverage rate stood at 23.81 per cent in 2011, which is lower than the global average of 31 per cent in 2010.
While many people including those living in poverty depend on forest for fodder, fuel and income, the negative impact on forest has been exacerbated due to the considerable population growth which is resulting in effects including environmental degradation, creating an urgent need for increasing the forest area while also focusing on improvement of forest quality.