Articles on 5 November 2025

India’s Forests Hold the Future

Context

• As India charts its path toward sustainable development while pursuing rapid economic growth, forests are gaining renewed prominence in the country’s climate and ecological agenda.
• The revised Green India Mission (GIM) aims to restore 25 million hectares of degraded forest and non-forest land by 2030, aligning with India's pledge to create an additional carbon sink of up to 3.39 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
• However, the success of this mission will depend not only on the number of trees planted, but also on how restoration is conceptualised, implemented, and sustained.
• With climate change reducing forest productivity and communities increasingly demanding participation, India stands at a defining moment in shaping its forest-restoration paradigm.

India’s Restoration Context and Climate Urgency

• Recent scientific research underscores the need for high-quality ecological restoration.
• A 2025 study by IIT Kharagpur, supported by IIT Bombay and BITS Pilani, revealed a 12% decline in photosynthetic efficiency in dense forests due to rising temperatures and drying soils.
• This finding challenges the simplistic idea that more trees equal more carbon sinks, instead highlighting the need for resilient, climate-adaptive forests.
• India has made measurable progress over the last decade, with forest and tree cover increasing from 16% in 2015 to 25.17% in 2023.
• Yet, this growth has often prioritised plantation numbers over ecological integrity, making quality of restoration central to future success.

Pillars of Forest Restoration Efforts in India

• Community Participation: The Social Foundation

  • Forest restoration in India is inseparable from the lives of nearly 200 million people who depend on forests for subsistence.
  • Laws such as the Forest Rights Act (2006) empower communities to protect and manage their landscapes.
  • However, many plantation initiatives continue to bypass local consent, creating social conflict, legal challenges, and mistrust.
  • Examples from states like Odisha, where Joint Forest Management Committees participate in planning and share revenues, and Chhattisgarh, which integrates biodiverse plantations and supports tribal livelihoods, illustrate that community-centred restoration strengthens both ecological and social outcomes.

• Ecological Design and Native Species

  • India’s earlier afforestation programmes relied heavily on monocultures of eucalyptus and acacia, fast-growing but ecologically harmful, water-depleting, and biodiversity-suppressing.
  • The revised GIM advocates a shift toward native, site-specific species, a crucial step in building ecosystem resilience.
  • States like Tamil Nadu, which has nearly doubled its mangrove cover, demonstrate the value of well-designed, ecologically informed restoration.
  • Yet, success will require skilled forest personnel, ecological training, and improved capacity in state forest departments.

• Financing and Institutional Alignment

  • India’s restoration ambitions are backed by substantial resources; the CAMPA Fund alone holds ₹95,000 crore.
  • However, utilisation remains uneven and inefficient, with Delhi using only 23% of its approved funds between 2019 and 2024. The challenge is not funding alone, but smart, accountable deployment.
  • Innovative financing initiatives—such as Himachal Pradesh’s biochar-carbon credits programme and Uttar Pradesh’s carbon-market-linked village plantation efforts, signal emerging models for climate financing and local economic integration.
  • To strengthen implementation, India needs:
    • Transparent public monitoring dashboards
    • Training for frontline forest staff
    • Community-led planning and monitoring
    • Flexible use of CAMPA funds for people-centric restoration

Conclusion

• India possesses strong laws, institutional frameworks, financial resources, and promising state-level models. What it needs now is alignment, capacity, and inclusive governance.
• As India moves toward Viksit Bharat 2047, forests must be understood not as environmental luxuries, but as economic and ecological capital essential for the country’s future.
• The restoration of 25 million hectares will not be easy; Yet, pursued with scientific rigour, social inclusion, and ecological wisdom, it has the potential to redefine global restoration practices, empower communities, and build forests that are resilient, biodiverse, and climate-adaptive.

India’s Forests Hold the Future FAQs

 Q1. What is the primary goal of the revised Green India Mission?

Ans. The primary goal of the revised Green India Mission is to restore 25 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

Q2. Why is planting more trees alone not sufficient for carbon sequestration?

Ans. Planting more trees alone is not sufficient because climate change is reducing forest photosynthetic efficiency, making ecological resilience more important than tree numbers.

Q3. What role do communities play in India’s forest restoration efforts?

Ans. Communities play a crucial role because nearly 200 million people depend on forests, and their participation ensures legal, social, and ecological success.

Q4. Why are native species prioritized in the new restoration approach?

Ans. Native species are prioritized because they support biodiversity, conserve water, and make forests more resilient to climate stress.

Q5. What major challenge exists despite large funds like CAMPA being available?

Ans. A major challenge is the inefficient and inconsistent utilization of funds, which prevents effective implementation of restoration projects.

Source: The Hindu

Trump Seems More in Control of Israel Than Hamas

Context

• The current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stands on uncertain and unstable ground, shaped by unresolved humanitarian obligations, rising geopolitical pressure, and competing strategic interests.
• While the agreement aims to de-escalate hostilities following the October 7, 2023 attacks, deep mistrust and reluctant compliance threaten to unravel progress.
• The situation highlights a striking paradox: Israel, though militarily dominant, is politically constrained, while Hamas, despite military weakness, retains ideological and strategic freedom.
• Amid this ongoing situation, it is important to examine the evolving ceasefire, the role of U.S. diplomacy, and the factors that make lasting peace elusive.

Body Returns and the Ceasefire’s First Test

• A major stipulation of the ceasefire is the return of Israelis’ bodies held by Hamas in Gaza.
• As of now, 13 bodies remain unreturned, with Hamas either unable or unwilling to locate them, raising suspicions this delay may be strategic. 
• Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been mediating, reflecting the sensitivity and international scrutiny around this phase.
• The return of these bodies is not just humanitarian; it is a precondition for the next stage, Hamas’s disarmament, which is poised to be the real test of the ceasefire.

Escalation amid Negotiation, U.S. Involvement and Strategic Pressure

• Escalation amid Negotiation

  • Despite the ceasefire, hostilities have persisted.
  • Recent incidents, such as the killing of an Israeli soldier by Hamas in northern Gazaand subsequent Israeli retaliation resulting in more than 100 Palestinian deaths in a day, underscore the fragility of the agreement. 
  • Qatar’s support for Israel, paired with condemnation of Hamas’s actions, signals a shifting regional stance and highlights the challenge of unity among ceasefire guarantors.

• Involvement and Strategic Pressure

  • A distinctive feature of the current scenario is the unusually direct American involvement.
  • President Trump’s decision to send 200 military personnel, deploy drones for surveillance, and initiate high-level visits to Jerusalem demonstrates U.S. intent to enforce the ceasefire personally.
  • This level of intervention is intended as a show of support and a lever to exert pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
  • The assertive U.S. presence and the threat to withdraw support if Israel pursues West Bank annexation have rattled the Israeli government, especially right-wing factions opposed to external constraints.

Limited Influence on Hamas

• While the U.S. exercises considerable influence over Israel, it has less leverage over Hamas.
• Hamas, having weathered American threats, is emboldened by its ability to extract political concessions and delay major steps like hostage releases for maximum advantage.
• Although Qatar and Turkey have pushed Hamas towards compliance, it is uncertain how long Hamas will heed their influence.

The Paradox of Power Dynamics and Implications for Israeli and Regional Politics

• The Paradox of Power Dynamics

  • This situation illustrates a paradox: Israel, despite its military dominance, finds itself politically constrained by American demands, whereas Hamas, though militarily inferior, enjoys ideological independence and greater negotiating latitude. 
  • Trump’s forceful diplomatic style may provide a short-term halt to violence but risks sowing seeds of lasting regional resentment.

• Implications for Israeli and Regional Politics

  • For Netanyahu, U.S. involvement is both beneficial and humiliating, shifting responsibility for peace onto America while exposing the extent to which Israeli sovereignty is subject to U.S. politics.
  • As U.S. elections approach, Israel’s dependency on its most powerful ally becomes increasingly pronounced.
  • Hamas and regional backers are capitalising on the perception that Israel is acting under external duress, which may enhance Hamas’s standing regardless of military setbacks.

The Path Forward: Beyond Deal Diplomacy

• President Trump’s ceasefire deal may achieve a temporary reduction in violence, but authentic peace remains elusive.
• The asymmetry of power and the transactional approach dominated by current American diplomacy are unlikely to nurture lasting stability.
• Sustainable peace in Gaza will require restraint, reconciliation, and genuine regional cooperation, elements extending beyond any leader’s deal-making prowess.
• The risk is that, once the immediate crisis passes and international attention fades, underlying tensions will persist and the region will remain primed for renewed conflict.

Trump Seems More in Control of Israel Than Hamas FAQs

 Q1. What issue is delaying the progress of the Israel–Hamas ceasefire?

Ans. The progress of the ceasefire is delayed because Hamas has not yet returned the remaining Israeli bodies taken on October 7, 2023.

Q2. Why is U.S. involvement in the ceasefire considered unusual?

Ans. U.S. involvement is considered unusual because American troops and drones are directly monitoring Gaza, which has not happened in the last two years of the conflict.

Q3. What political challenge does Prime Minister Netanyahu face due to U.S. pressure?

Ans. Prime Minister Netanyahu must balance maintaining U.S. support while reassuring Israelis that their nation remains sovereign and not controlled by Washington.

Q4. Why does Hamas resist moving to the next phase of the ceasefire?

Ans. Hamas resists moving to the next phase because it would require the group to disarm, which it is unwilling to do.

Q5. What is the paradox in Israel-Palestine ceasefire situation?

Ans. The paradox is that Israel, despite being militarily stronger, is politically constrained, while Hamas, though weaker militarily, operates with more ideological freedom.

Source: The Hindu