Give a forest to every village: Ramon Magsaysay awardee to govt

New Delhi, Mar 21 (UNI) The freak weather experienced this month and the recurring floods, droughts and other natural calamities are the result of substantial loss of forest cover over the last few decades.

Underscoring this on the occasion of the World Forestry Day today, Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and Chipko Movement leader from the hill state of Uttarakhand Chandi Prasad Bhatt suggested to the Centre to come out with a ''set up'' in which every village of the country should have its own forest to be run by a village panchayat.

''Involvement of the people dependent on forests for their survival is the best means of ensuring protection and conservation of this gift of nature,'' Mr Bhatt said delivering the keynote address at a function organised by the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

He said the government should provide necessary economic, administrative and technical assistance for the functioning of village panchayats.

''Proper management of forests can be an effective tool of removing poverty, as about more than 1,70,000 villages are situated in or around forests and the people living there are directly dependent on it for their basic needs like water, fodder, foodgrains, fuel, medicinal herbs, material for house construction among others,'' he said.

Mr Bhatt also underlined that forsts were crucial in ensuring the food security not only for those living near and around them but for the whole country, as it covered retained moisture for agricultural land and provided nutrients to the soil.

Moreover, the Chipko leader pointed out, forests also provided a major chunk of the domestic energy needs. Quoting Forest Commission figures, he said wood provided 20 to 30 per cent of the country's fuel needs.

He said loss of forests had affected more poor women in tribal and hilly areas than men.

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