Market-based Approaches to Forest Conservation

Context

As per a major scientific review, Market-based approaches to forest conservation have largely failed to protect trees or alleviate poverty.

Key Highlights

• The record compiled by using the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), a set of 15,000 scientists in 120 countries, will be presented at a high-level UN discussion board.
• According to it ,Trade and finance-pushed projects had made “limited” progress halting deforestation and in a few instances worsened economic inequality.
• There is a rise in complex and overlapping market-based schemes “with financial actors and shareholders more frequently interested in short term income than long-term only and sustainable forest governance”.
• Poverty and forest loss each are continuous throughout different regions of the world.
• Green trade policies imposed by wealthy nations—just like the EU’s ban on imports linked to deforestation—would possibly look desirable from Brussels but did not consider the knock-on effects.

Market-based conservation instruments 

•  Market- based strategies to forest conservation comprises carbon offsets and deforestation-free certification schemes.
• It includes a range of policy tools, from pollution taxes and tradable permits to direct payments for personal conservation efforts. 
• They can be either regulatory (e.g., environmental taxes or tradable permits schemes) or voluntary (e.g., payments for environment services).

Importance 

• Market-based solutions normally offer flexibility to undertake moves that have the lowest price and bring about more fee-powerful fulfillment of natural resource conservation and environmental desires in comparison to traditional command and manage techniques.
• Market-based conservation quantifies economic values for natural aid conservation techniques and develops or complements public and private markets wherein those values can be offered and/or traded to attain natural aid and environmental goals.

Steps in India 

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has launched the Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme.
• This countrywide forest certification scheme gives voluntary third party certification designed to sell sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the united states of america. The scheme includes forest management certification, tree out of doors forest management certification, and chain of custody certification.

What more needs to be done ?

• Forest destruction at some point of the world poses considerable risks. Not only are forests a source of treasured wood and non-wooden merchandise, however also they offer crucial environmental services that assist sustain life on Earth. 
• Therefore, there is a need for more and more famous market-based approaches which might be frequently promoted as powerful at saving forests, curtailing global warming and raising residing requirements in developing nations. 

Source: The Indian Express

UPSC Mains Practice Question

Q. What are the major challenges regarding forest conservation? How market-based conservation can be a way out to the issue? (200 words)

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