Nagar Van Yojana

• The Nagar Van Yojana(Urban Forests) aims to develop 200 Urban Forests across the country till 2027.

• It was launched in 2020 in an effort to enhance the urban greenery for improving the quality of life and increasing social cohesion in cities.
• The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs. 4 lakh per hectare for the creation and maintenance of these urban forests, encouraging the involvement of citizens, students, and other stakeholders in the creation and management of these green spaces.
• Nagar Van areas range from a minimum of 10 ha to 50 ha.
• The scheme covers all cities with Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
• Emphasis is on biodiversity, Planting fruit-bearing, medicinal, and native species to attract wildlife and promote ecological balance. Community participation is central, with opportunities for public engagement through tree planting, educational programs, and sustainable management.
• Each Nagar Van must have at least two-thirds of its area under tree cover and will feature components like Biodiversity Parks, Smriti Vans, Butterfly Conservatories, and Herbal Gardens and now Matri Van created under Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam.
• Warje Urban Forest in Pune (Maharashtra) will be considered as a role model for the Scheme.

• The Scheme enforces people’s participation and collaboration between the Forest Department, Municipal bodies, NGOs, Corporates and local citizens.
• These urban forests will primarily be on the existing forest land in the City or any other vacant land offered by local urban local bodies.

Finances:

• The finances for the scheme will be paid for by the CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016) funds.
  
  • The CAF Act was enacted to manage the funds collected for compensatory afforestation which till then was managed by ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
  • Compensatory afforestation means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.
  • As per the rules, 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.

Why urban forestry?

• Biodiversity conservation has traditionally been considered confined to remote forest areas but with increasing urbanisation a need has arisen to safeguard and save biodiversity in urban areas also.
• Urban forest is the best way to bridge this gap. Hence, this scheme.

Need for protection

• India is endowed with rich biodiversity, having several animal and plant species and hosting 4 of the 35 global biodiversity hotspots, containing several endemic species.
• However, increasing population, deforestation, urbanisation, and industrialisation have put our natural resources under tremendous pressure, causing biodiversity loss.
• Biodiversity is vital for the survival of all life forms on this planet and is a key to providing various ecological services.