This is as good a time as any to launch this site on the "Greening of India". The GIM has now finally started taking a recognizable shape, whereas up to now it's been little more than a blob of neurons in the minds of various individuals. We've just finished a National Workshop at Delhi (thanks to our indefatigable colleagues at the NAEB and thanks, Scope building complex!), to review and finalize the one-year "Bridge" Plans of the States and UTs for the financial year 2011-12. And what an invigorating, inspiring and fulfilling event it has been.
Invigorating, because of the energy, enthusiasm and synergy that was evident at the meeting.
Inspiring, due to the wealth of ideas, insights and experiences shared by the participants.
Fulfilling, to see how the germs of our initial ideas have been sown, germinated, and nurtured by our friends in the field, and now are ready to blossom and bear fruit. It was also heartening to see how much competence and creative thinking has obviously been brought to bear on the exercise by each team. It has been a humbling and inspiring learning experience for all of us. We also had highly supportive and insightful contributions from non-foresters like our Financial Advisor and Additional Secretary, Prof. SB Roy, and many others. That's the sort of consensus building we should be striving for.
In very simple terms, I would say that the essence of the Mission is to identify some problem areas, and design solutions in discussions with the local stakeholders, and use the GIM funds as a source of seed money to leverage resources from all available sources to bear on the problem and its solution. As we said to some of the delegates who had not quite been able to capture the essence, just select a few locations which have some typical problems... maybe poverty, maybe man-animal conflict and crop damage or worse, maybe water, maybe processing or storage facilities for produce, maybe fodder or fuel... and bring all relevant sectoral personnel together with the communities, and develop strategies to tackle the specific problems. It was so reassuring to hear the many good experiences from different corners of the country. I hope we'll be able to describe many of these in more detail in the course of the year in this site. I was also vastly relieved to see how ICFRE has taken on the burden of devising a comprehensive research program, and I have suggested that they expand this logically to encompass the benchmark survey and rigorous monitoring of both the physical and the socio-economic developments.
I'd like to once again emphasize the importance of highlighting the crucial step of PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION and ANALYSIS in between selection of the Mission locations (Landscapes) and the Activities (operations). Some States seemed to have pre-decided the operations, which they may be justified in doing because of past experience, but it is essential to specify the problems to be tackled and the process by which the strategy has been or is to be developed, so that it doesn't become a stereotyped list of plantation activities. During the process of problem analysis, all relevant sectoral agencies and departments (including people's organisations, NGOs and experts) can and ought to be associated, right from the beginning. Another aspect that should be given a prominent place of its own is the process of attaining CONVERGENCE in the Mission.
Another insight obtained was that this being almost the end of this financial year, it would be better to limit this year's plan to activities which can definitely be completed within this short period (even if the funds won't lapse once transferred to the SFDAs), and to put the fuller complement of activities (for example, investment expenditures including soil and moisture conservation structures) in the regular plan for 2012-13. We all agreed that we could slow down things, as for all practical purposes 2012-13 would be the initial year of the Mission, and major field operations (like plantations) would start only in 2013-14.
That brings me to the road ahead. We hope to have the national workshop for the 5 and 10-year Perspective Plans by the end of March or beginning of April 2012, in which the Annual Plans for 2012-13 also would be discussed and hopefully decided. So States will have to quickly do their consultations and data analysis and come up with the long-term plans. We have not so far prescribed any templates, firstly because we have not yet set up the GIM national office, and secondly, because personally I would like to see what the States come up with, and we can collectively choose the best combination of features at the National Workshop in March/April 2012. After all, this is not the first time we are doing this sort of exercise!
The Bridge Plans will be finalised in a few days, and put up to the National Governing Council of the GIM (yes, one has been notified!) forthwith. We should follow due procedure always!
I for one am vastly energised and am very optimistic that this Mission will be a "game-changer", and will genuinely bring benefits to the most deserving. It was obvious that all of us want to do something useful for the nation and the people, and I don't think there can be a better opportunity and vehicle to actualise our ideas. As I have been saying often, let's make our 21st century forestry go like an SUV - SUCCESSFUL, USEFUL, and VISIBLE !
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