What is Familial Forestry ?
HEADLINES:
Land for Life is an award programme of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which is conferred every two years.
WHY IN NEWS:
Land for life Award 2021 was conferred to the Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, India, by UNCCD on 17th June 2021.
ISSUE:
WHAT IS FAMILIAL FORESTRY ?
- This movement involved more than a million families from more than 15,000 villages of desert-prone northwest Rajasthan.
- About 2.5 million saplings have been planted in the past 15 years, with active participation of students and desert dwellers, as per UNCCD.
- Familial Forestry of Rajasthan in India is a unique concept that relates a tree with a family, making it a green “family member”.
- This green or eco socialization brings environmental sensitivity and empowerment.
SIGNIFICANCE
- Familial forestry starts with domestication of trees and goes beyond later. It directly involves family in plantation and its care.
- When a house hold grows and nurture its own forest in and around house then the children of that house get sensitized about the surrounding during their primary stage of socialization.
- Family gets fresh and organic vegetables, without extra land, water and labour because these vegetables are grown with trees. Family trees provide nesting place to birds, insects thus increase biodiversity.
- Familial Forestry associates ritual and festivals with trees to make green foot- printing an integral part of social structure.
CLIMATE LITERACY
- Sensitization at home motivates family to think about community forest.
- Climate literacy and public understanding of the local dimensions of climate change are vital for public engagement and support climate action.
- Education and civil engagement are the strongest predictors of public awareness of climate change.
- Being a bottom up approach Familial forestry directly involves community specially our younger people in climate action thus it has been replicated.
LAND FOR LIFE AWARD
- The land for life award is world’s highest award for land conservation and restoration.
- The Land for Life Award is designed to reward impactful holistic approaches and practices that contribute to land restoration and conservation through exemplary and innovative efforts.
- The theme of 2021 award was “Healthy Land, Healthy Lives”.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The idea of institutional forest is an extension of familial forestry concept from house to educational institutions and community level.
- It also ignites collective consciousness to foster the societal engagement in environmental conservation.
SOURCES: PIB | What is Familial Forestry ?
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