Projects

As per the findings of India State Forest Report on Bihar (2017-19) the following has been the developments pertaining to the forest and tree cover in the State

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• Tree cover decreased by 260 square km

• Forest cover increased by 6.99 square km

• Forest cover in the state is 7,305.99 sq km, which is 7.76% of its total geographical area

• 1,131.60 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes between January 1, 2015 and February 5, 2019

• A total of 56,560 hectares of plantations raised in 2017-19

• State government’s assessment of forest cover is 15%

• The total carbon stock sequestered by the forests in Bihar is 55.24 million tonnes which is 0.78% of the total national stock.

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The green cover in the state of Bihar is decreasing rapidly as per the report by stdy by ISFR. In order to address this issue we promoted plantations of Mahogany plants over agriculture land that is hardly used for agriculture. In the District of Madhubani the migration rates are very high. In many villages agriculture on the lands belonging to the big farmers cannot be preformed due to lack of labor and over all neglect. The working members of these families are mostly settled in metros outside Bihar and are indifferent towards agricultural usage of the land. We proposed that since agriculture is not being performed in these lands, it can be utilized for plantation of Mahogany trees that have a long term growth and provide monetary benefits in the 15-20 years of time.

 

Mahogany provides timber product for premium use. It is not an indigenous plant and its wood is imported from outside India. Hence the demand is high while supply is low leading to high prices that can be fetched in the market.

 

By planting Mahogany trees the land owners can utilize the fallow agriculture land available and also ensure conservation of soil and water table and also contribute to the green coverage of the state.

 

Over 5000 Mahogany plants were planted in the village Parsa, Rajoli panchayat of the Jaynagar block of Madhubani District in Bihar as a pilot on different plots of land covering about 2.5 Bighas of land through 100% community contribution and participation. This pilot held across the years 2018-2019 aims at generating awareness towards plantations over private agriculture land agriculture and its long term benefits. People in the village have realized and many of the families have planted Mahogany and Mango trees after being influenced by the pilot.