Objective

• To safeguard the ecological and livelihood security of present and future generations.
• Eco-security: The country should aim to have a minimum of one-third of the total land area under forest and tree cover and in hilly and mountainous regions, the aim will be to maintain two-third of the area under forest and tree cover.
• Institutions: Setting up National Board of Forestry (NBF) at central level (headed by the Environment Minister) and State Boards of Forestry at state level (headed by state ministers in charge of forests) for ensuring inter-sectoral convergence, simplification of procedures, conflict resolution, etc. They will also periodically review implementation of this policy.
• Strengthening community participation in forestry: To ensure synergy between gram sabhas and joint forest management committees for successful community participation in forestry, National Community Forest Management Mission will be launched under Forest Rights Act (FRA).
• Promote agro-forestry, farm forestry and Urban Green to increase the tree cover outside forests.
• Stabilizing ecologically sensitive catchment areas with suitable soil and water conservation measures.
• Biodiversity Conservation through surveying of forest areas and promoting modern techniques of exsitu conservation for Relic, Endangered and Threatened (RET) species.
• Identifying and maintaining wildlife rich areas and corridors outside protected areas for ensuring ecological and genetic continuity.
• Develop a national forest ecosystems management in formation system for scientific planning and management.
• Research and Education in Forest management for increasing forest productivity, enhancing the capacity of the forest ecosystems for carbon sequestration, reclamation of degraded and mined areas for ecological security, addressing the contemporary priorities and for increasing livelihood support and economic growth.
• Enhance Quality and Productivity of natural forests by promoting natural regeneration through locally suitable indigenous species.                                    
• Increase the productivity of forest plantations by intensive scientific management of commercially important species like teak, sal, sisham, poplar, eucalyptus, bamboo etc.
• Public private participation models: will be developed for undertaking afforestation and reforestation activities in degraded forest areas and forest areas available with Forest Development Corporations and outside forests.
• Forest Based Industry will be incentivized as it being labour intensive can help in increasing green jobs and meeting the demand of raw materials as well.
• Management of Non-Timber Forest Produce through Value Chain approach would be made compulsory and part of the business plans related to NTFP.
• Management of North-Eastern Forests which have a vital impact on climate, agriculture production, and mitigation of floods in the plain areas of North-East.
• Forest Certification to enhance value of forest product harvested sustainably.
• Forest Skill Development Centres, for skilling forest dependent population in forestry sector jobs, will be instituted for training of frontline staff who are at the cutting edge of the forest department.Addressing forest fires by mapping vulnerable areas and develop early warning systems and methods to control fire through remote-sensing technology and community participation.
• Human-wildlife conflicts: It proposes dedicated and well-equipped quick response teams with health and veterinary services for speedy assessment of damage and quick payment of relief to the human victims, to minimise conflicts with the wildlife.

Concerns

Although, it recognizes the role of forests in climate change mitigation unlike previous policies, there are various concerns as well:

• Environmentalists object in involving PPP model for afforestation and reforestation activities, pointing out that this would mean privatisation of India’s natural resources and creating private forests.
• National Community Forest Management mission is based on the joint forest management model (involving both the state forest departments & local communities) that has no legal standing after enactment of Forest Rights Act, which vests management authority with gram sabhas.
• Policy orients itself more on the conservation and preservation of forest wealth rather than regenerating them through people’s participation.
• Concern over the achievement of policy, as most of the objectives mentioned in earlier National Forest Policy 1988 have not been met so far.
• It fails to mention or address the degradation of growing stock in the natural forests
• It persists with the methodological weakness of the Indian Forest Survey Reports of the past 30 years that conflate plantations with forest cover.