Our highway policy needs a green reset, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• India's rapid highway expansion under Bharatmala and Vision 2047 is creating ecological and public health challenges.
• Highway Farm Forestry (HFF) is proposed as a solution, encouraging farmers to grow commercially viable trees near highways.
• HFF aims to reduce pollution, improve ecological connectivity, and generate income for farmers.
• India imports approximately Rs 70,000 crore worth of wood annually, which HFF could help reduce.
• A Tiered Zone Framework is suggested, prioritizing tree-based systems within 100m of pollution-affected belts.
• The National Transit Pass System (2023) facilitates interstate timber movement.

Detailed Insights:

• Current highway development views highways as transport infrastructure, neglecting ecological and socio-economic impacts.
• HFF promotes a market-linked agroforestry approach, incentivizing farmers to cultivate tree crops instead of pollution-sensitive food crops.
• Tree Crop Buffer Zones can act as ecological stepping stones, supporting pollinators, birds, and local microclimates.
• A Tiered Zone Framework allows for differentiated land use, balancing ecological restoration, food security, and farmer livelihoods.
• Proper implementation of HFF requires institutional coordination, farmer support, quality planting material, and simplified regulations.
• Ecological safeguards are crucial to avoid monocultural plantations and ensure science-based, region-specific species selection.
• HFF complements cleaner mobility systems and stronger environmental safeguards in infrastructure planning.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Agroforestry: Land use management system integrating trees and shrubs with crop and/or animal production.
• Ecological Connectivity: The degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement of organisms among resource patches.
• Carbon Sequestration: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide to mitigate climate change.