JUNGLE SENA STATEMENT - STOP HUMILIATING INDIA’S FORESTS

India’s forests are not empty land banks.

They are living ecosystems.

They are cultural memory, climate shields, water regulators, and wildlife homes.

Yet once again, the Government of India is treating forests as expendable commodities.

Jungle Sena strongly condemns the January 2, 2026 amendment issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) that opens up forest land for commercial plantations by private and government entities, while removing mandatory safeguards like Net Present Value (NPV) payments and Compensatory Afforestation.

This move is not “forest restoration.” This is institutionalised disturbance, dilution, and humiliation of India’s forests.

What has the government done?

By amending the 2023 guidelines under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam (earlier the Forest Conservation Act), the MoEFCC has:

• Reclassified commercial plantations as “forestry activities”
• Removed the requirement of NPV payments
• Removed the requirement of Compensatory Afforestation
• Allowed public and private entities to raise and harvest plantations inside forest land
• Left revenue-sharing and utilisation to vague, state-level frameworks

Earlier, leasing forest land for plantations was rightly treated as non-forestry activity, attracting strict environmental and financial checks. That protection has now been quietly dismantled.

Why is this dangerous?

Let us be absolutely clear:

A plantation is NOT a forest.

A forest is a complex, self-regulating ecosystem with:
• Native species diversity
• Understory vegetation
• Deadwood and soil organisms
• Wildlife corridors and microhabitats

A commercial plantation is:
• Often monoculture
• Designed for fast harvest and profit
• Ecologically poor
• Hostile to wildlife
• Vulnerable to pests, fires, and water stress

Replacing degraded natural forests (which still retain root stock, soil life, and biodiversity potential) with monoculture plantations destroys recovery chances forever.

Who benefits from this amendment?

Not forests.
Not wildlife.
Not indigenous communities.
Not climate resilience.

This amendment primarily serves industrial interests, particularly sectors dependent on pulp, paper, timber, and fast-growing species like eucalyptus and poplar.

The justification offered - India’s rising import of paper and paperboard - is deeply flawed.

Industrial dependency cannot become an excuse to dismantle environmental law.

If imports are rising, the solution lies in:
• Recycling
• Reducing consumption
• Improving efficiency
• Using non-forest lands

- not opening up protected forest landscapes.

Experts are warning. Why isn’t the government listening?

Legal experts, former IFS officers, and conservation professionals have already called this move:

• “Disastrous”
• “A dilution of biodiversity protection”
• “Privatisation of forest management”
• “A direct conflict with ecological security”

They have clearly stated that:
• NPV and compensatory afforestation were essential safeguards
• Their removal weakens accountability
• Private players will prioritise revenue over ecology
• Monoculture plantations will expand
• Wildlife habitats will shrink

When those who have protected forests for decades raise alarms, silence from the ministry is not governance, it is abdication of responsibility.

The bigger problem: Bypassing democracy

Section 3C of the Van Adhiniyam empowers the Central Government to issue directions without parliamentary oversight.

This amendment was not debated in Parliament.
It was not publicly consulted.
It was not ecologically reviewed in a transparent manner.

Forest laws are being altered through executive circulars, not democratic discussion.

This sets a dangerous precedent.

Jungle Sena’s clear stand

We demand:

- Immediate withdrawal of the January 2, 2026 amendment
- Restoration of NPV and Compensatory Afforestation requirements
- Clear legal distinction between natural forests and plantations
- Absolute prohibition of commercial monoculture plantations inside forest land
- Transparency, public consultation, and parliamentary scrutiny of all forest-related amendments

Forests cannot be managed like industrial estates.
They cannot be leased, harvested, and monetised without consequence.
They cannot speak for themselves, but we can.

Message to the Government of India

Stop humiliating forests in the name of “development.”
Stop disturbing ecosystems for short-term industrial convenience.
Stop weakening laws that exist to protect future generations.

India’s forests are already under siege - from mining, highways, linear projects, fragmentation, and climate stress. This amendment adds another wound.

Jungle Sena will continue to stand with forests, wildlife, and communities - on the ground and in policy spaces.

Forests are not for sale.

Forests are not plantations.

Forests are life.

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#SaveForests
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