Department of Environment and Forests, Government of Assam

The Department of Environment and Forests, Government of Assam is a department under the Government of Assam.

• Mission - is to protect and improve the environment, safeguard the forests and wildlife of the State, preserve and add new dimensions to the rich heritage of our composite culture, protect and improve the natural environment, and to have compassion for living creatures.'The primary responsibility of a transparent and clean Government is to inform the people about public sector institutions'. To this end our Government has already enacted the Right to Information Bill in the state. Now the Forest Department, Assam has published a booklet Assam Forests at a Glance wherein all the basic information relating to the Department and pertinent to its public interface has been incorporated. The information presented is also valuable for the layman and for this the Department is worthy of praise.
  

  The National Highway passing through the Parakhowa forest in Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
  The booklet contains vital data on the present infrastructure, status, human resource, equipments, natural resources and the rich bio-diversity protected under Forests Department's guardianship. The revenue generated, expenditure incurred, the various schemes undertaken and proposed for the protection and sustainable management of Forests and Wildlife by the Department, has been well presented. The implementation of various innovative schemes for participatory forest protection and income generation of the forest fringe villagers under Joint Forest Management etc., also finds mention in this booklet. "The booklet contains vivid information of the Forest Department and it is hoped that it will elicit the spontaneous support for protection and sustainable use of our natural resources."
• Policy - Forest resources have been regulated since early times. The roots of legislations, policies and guide lines for natural resource management in India can be traced back to the days of British colonialism. The relevant constitutional framework at the backdrop of management of forest resources are briefly enumerated as follows:
• Forest Policy, Govt. of India - In 1952, the erstwhile Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Government of India enunciated a Forest policy to be followed in the management of state forests in the country. The need for this Policy was to highlight the changes since the enunciation of the Forest policy of 1894. Forest, however. continued to be viewed as source of revenue. While recognizing that the proportion of land to be kept permanently under forest would naturally vary in different regions, the policy said that practical consideration suggests, "that India, as whole, would aim at maintaining one third of its total land area under forests." Emphasis was laid on the conversion of low value mixed forests to high value plantation of commercial species.
• Bamboo Policy - Bamboo and Rattan represent untapped major resource of Assam State whose full ecological and economic potential needs to be recognized, developed and promoted in a manner ensuring ecological security for all round sustainable development of the State and also the livelihood security to its people.

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