PEECHI (THRISSUR): The former Chief Conservator of Forests of Tamil Nadu, S. John Joseph, has said that efforts must be made to address the general bias against investment in forestry.

Presenting a paper at the ongoing national workshop on `Status and future of mixed plantations' at the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) here, Dr. Joseph said the bias was particularly evident against mixed plantations as the general scenario is that of promoting monoculture.

Conceding that the rate of returns on investments in forestry may be low, Dr. John Joseph said but there must be efforts to publicise the benefits of such investments.

He recalled that even though the majority of existing plantations are industrial in nature, agro-forestry and social forestry are widely practised in India. Agro forestry is a dynamic and ecologically based natural resource management system, and incorporates a range of domesticated trees into the same landscape, unlike the current monocrop practices of raising teak or eucalyptus, and this practice must be vigorously pursued, he said.

According to him while most of the fuel wood and number of non-wood products and environmental benefits come from natural forests, more than 50 per cent of the industrial wood is produced in plantations. The largest area under plantation is in Brazil with seven million hectares under plantation and India can claim to be a close competitor with four million hectares under plantations.

Pointing out that forest plantations are tree crops which are in many ways analogous to agriculture crops, Dr. John Joseph said they have simple structure and are usually restricted to one or few species chosen for their fast growth, yield of commercial products and ease of management, resulting in high productivity.

In Argentina, for example the area of forest plantations represent only two per cent of the total forest area but account for 60 per cent of industrial wood production. More than 80 per cent of all forest plantations are to be found in Asia-Oceania region. China alone accounts for 40 per cent of total plantation area of the developing world.

Studies also reveal that nearly a quarter of tropical forest plantations are planted with eucalyptus followed by pines, acacias and teak, Dr. Joseph said.

"Most of the countries with large plantation estates indicated in a FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) survey in 1996 that they intend to double their plantation areas between 1995-2010. However it is gratifying to note that this expansion is expected to be accompanied by qualitative changes in planting programme due to increased sensitivity on the part of the planners to the need for consultation and involvement of stakeholders," he said.

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