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General Observations :
The Chinese visit has been a pleasant experience for the Indian
delegation as to how a big country with a population of more
than 1.3 billion people can take up the task of nation building.
The Government of China has caught the  imagination of its young
people as Boys and Girls seen every where in making China a
great country. The social infrastructure of Roads, Railways,
Civil Aviation, Electricity, Water, Medical and Health Care,
Markets and Industry etc are all world class and creating
economical boom and triggering a growth of more than 10%
annually. The results of this are also seen in Social
development and reduction in Poverty. The results are also
visible from the point of view of Forestry as between the year
1990 and 2000, China recorded an annual 1.2 percent expansion
rate or 1.8 million ha of forests, while elsewhere in the world
forest were shrinking by 0.2 percent a year. China also tops the
world with bringing about 54 million hectares under forestation.
The economic boom has reduced the dependency of people on
forests and hence forest cover got increased. The China’s
desert coverage has been falling by about 1,200 sq km a year
over the last five year. The Chinese Government proposes that by
2010 one-fifth of Chinese territory shall be covered by forests.
They also propose to produce forest based bio-fuel to replace
200 million ton of coal and to reduce fossil fuel energy
consumption by 10 percent and by 2020 13.33 million hectares of
forests shall be producing bio-fuel for the power generation.
The China is also planning big on carbon dioxide mitigation as
trees help reduce green house gas emissions. India has also
shown tremendous progress on conservation of forests and wild
life and both countries could learn from each others experience.
The
Chinese authorities are committed to eradicate poverty and
shifting cultivation through various policy instruments but
largely through industrialization. In India we are also still
grappling with poverty and unemployment in tribal and rural
areas. However, the Indian Tribal welfare Programme is well
ahead of many countries in contents and scope and in providing
equity. The Rubber based Tribal Rehabilitation Programme of
Tripura is a unique successful model for permanent settlement of
shifting cultivators and could be a learning experience for the
Chinese under bilateral cooperation. In Kunming, where the
Indian delegation had visited a rural village, the poor people
are still struggling with their livelihood needs. There is
however, hope for the future as in the same village eco-tourism
is providing jobs for the poor and the economic progress may
drive the poverty away in a few years time as has been the trend
in China
From
the point of view of ITTO pre-project, the visit has been an eye
opener as far as Chinese perfection in technology for the value
addition of Bamboo is concerned. The final report under the
project should have a component to use the Bamboo resources of
Tripura along with the Rubber model to provide permanent
livelihood to the tribal shifting cultivators by utilizing the
superior technology with or without the Chinese assistance. The
Bamboo based industrial enterprise should be set up as model for
settlement of shifting cultivators along with other
developmental activities. This will require two pronged
strategy. First, create common facility centers for utilization
of raw Bamboo into semi-processed raw material for industrial
use. Second, set up an industry to produce world class finished
bamboo products like Flooring and Medium Density Bamboo Board,
high grade handicrafts by having tie-ups with the Chinese
Companies. The ITTO project to be implemented shall bring more
ideas and opportunities for implementation. The viable models
for the permanent settlement of tribal shifting cultivators will
ultimately ensure sustainable forest management in Tripura.
The
JBIC Project being implemented by the Forest Department also has
a major component on Bamboo and other Non-Timber Forest Products
(NTFPs). It would be desirable that the ITTO project takes into
account this and ensures synergy in overall implementation of
programmes aiming at welfare of tribal people and other rural
poor living in and around the forests and, sustainable
management of forests and other natural resources in Tripura.
The Centre of Excellence for NTFP under JBIC Project should be
involved as a partner in ITTO project for livelihood creation of
the tribal shifting cultivators.
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