Forests, as well as communities, are the target for large-scale public investments in afforestation and natural regeneration and are key to livelihood development. Adivasi and several other forest dwelling communities have a high dependence on forests in India. Meanwhile, the country is also attempting a leapfrog from footprint intensive consumerism to conscious and sustainable lifestyle choices. Industrial demand for NTFP-based raw material is growing exponentially in India and the world, led by the increasing use of forest products in alternative medicine formulations, processed wild foods, nature-based cosmetics and perfumery, and sustainable paper-and-pulp industries. Deep rooted yet informal linkages between technology, people and planetary boundaries are found in our shopping carts.

More than 200 recognised forest products including tendu leaf, bamboo, mahua (flower & seed), sal (leaf and seed), lac, chironjee, tamarind, gum and karanj seed. About 3000 minor forest produce species yield are found but only 126 have developed marketability.

The environmental imperatives for securing community tenure implemented under the Forest Rights Act,2006 are significantly pertinent to the post-pandemic economic reshuffle. While India has made ambitious international commitments on climate and biodiversity, business-as-usual strategies to achieve these commitments will exacerbate socioeconomic and ecological trade-offs, generate sub-optimal results and undermine the potential for forests to support rural development and the achievement of India’s SDGs.. Several national and international commitments to address restoring and conserving forest lands face functional bottlenecks. Resource exploitation, governance, ownership, trade and development are fundamental to these challenges.