Development of an intervention to reduce the deforestation and forest degradation in Shivamogga Forest Circle under REDD+ mechanism; Shivamogga District, Karnataka, India
Student name: Mr Prateek Sengupta
Guide: Dr Sudipta Chatterjee
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: IORA Ecological Solutions, New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Ashwin A.S.
Abstract: The USAID funded Forest-PLUS program is active in India and is working towards strengthening the capacity of the subcontinent to develop systems for forest carbon measurement and monitoring, as well as conduct greenhouse gas inventories, and support the application of science and technology for improved and more cost-efficient management and monitoring systems. It will also help to improve tools and capacity for land-use planning that reduces deforestation and forest degradation while also ensuring the rights and engagement of local and indigenous communities; by using the financial tool of REDD+. The study was conducted in Shivamogga district of Karnataka, India which is one of the four landscapes under Forest-PLUS program in India. The objective of the study was to find the major drivers of forest destruction in the Shivamogga Circle, which is a large forest area of over 4000 SqKm with varied characteristics of dry to moist deciduous & semi to full evergreen patches. The forest area is supposed to be regularly used by the villagers which reside in approximately 2300 villages spread in and around the forest area. This huge population is dependent on the forests mainly for fuel and fodder i.e. 97% of the village households are still using traditional cook stoves which consume a lot of biomass (like firewood, crop residue, cow dung) especially firewood. Also, the water heating practices in this region are responsible for double the loss of forest carbon in comparison to what is lost in the firewood collection for cooking purposes. The study tries to suggest plausible intervention to combat both the issues and thus somewhere helps the Forest-PLUS program to achieve its aim to reduce the green house gas emissions in India caused by deforestation and forest degradation.
Key terms: Deforestation, Forest degradation, Green House Gas emissions, REDD+ mechanism, Sustainable Forest Management, Clean Development Mechanism
