We all have seen big empty fields with lush green grasses. Those fields are actually called grasslands and they make up a huge chunk of India. Grassland conservation in India is facing a governance crisis due to the lack of proper policies and regulations. The Indian government has not included grasslands in any of its forest policies, and there is no dedicated policy for the management of grasslands. This has resulted in a bias towards forest-centric conservation strategies and a lack of attention towards the ecological and socio-economic importance of grasslands.

But why do grasslands need attention? Who owns these grasslands? What's their deal? Why do they matter? How are they different from forests? And why are they being left out? In this episode, host Sneha Richhariya speaks to Dr. G.D. Muratkar, who's like the "Grass Man of India". He's a botany professor from Maharashtra who's come up with a technique for planting grass and making long fields, or meadows. 

References:

Cabinet approves India’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution to be communicated to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
‘Foresting’ the grassland: Historical management legacies in forest-grassland mosaics in southern India, and lessons for the conservation of tropical grassy biomes
Mapping the distribution and extent of India’s semi-arid open natural ecosystems
Grassland Habitat in India
NATIONAL FOREST POLICY 1988
Draft National Policy
National Forest Policy Draft 2018 Takes One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Grasslands and desserts
NATIONAL MISSION FOR A GREEN INDIA
Proposal to involve private sector in increasing India’s green cover has environmentalists worried

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