Project Rationale

The project get its strength from the following

  • Global Policy Matrix on sustainable development Project Rationale concerning the multilateral environmental and developmental initiatives emphasizing on measures to halt and reverse the process of forest degradation and to ameliorate the deepening livelihood crisis for forest dependent communities.
    The project reflects three items of the Millennium Development Goals in complementary manner. These items are I. eradicating extreme poverty, II. ensuring environmental sustainability, III. strengthening global partnership for development

    Further, the project is in the line of four of the focal concerns of JBIC's funding policy namely; poverty reduction, providing foundation ofr sustained growth, global issues of peace building and human resource development.
  • Policies and plans of Central Government and the Gujarat State Government supports the project. I. Five year plan highlights the need to encourage civil society initiatives to make development a people's movement. II. With 80 % of poor in rural areas, it has been identified as key to focus on rural poverty for future growth efforts. III. In dry land areas, watershed development is critical to bring waste lands and degraded lands to productive use. IV. The national targets for forest and tree cover is set at 25% by 2007 and 33% by 2012.
    Gujarat' Forestry Sector Vision to 2010 envisages the achievements in
    • improved tree cover in existing forests
    • additional tree cover on non forest areas to cover 5% of state's land area
    • bio-diversity conservation and wildlife management
    • people's participation in forestry programmes,
    • widespread awareness towards forest and natural heritage
    • people oriented administration
    • balance between forest conservation and development
  • Need of GFDP II I. Restoration of degraded forests, II. Establishment of sustainable forest management, III. Enhancement of the livelihood of communities, Iv. Mitigation of biotic pressure to forest areas, V. Second generation issues of IFDP
  • Synergy with other donors by identifying the common fields of activities in the projects particularly in the component of tribal development, community based natural resource management, training of stakeholders, waste land development, coastal and mangrove plantations etc.