An Indo-Japanese project in the pipeline for over three years — promising to boost forest cover across 14 districts and support thousands of forest dwellers — was finally launched on Thursday by the state’s forest minister, Fateh Bahadur Singh at an inaugural workshop.

The Uttar Pradesh Partipatory Forest Management and Poverty Alleviation Project — involving the state forest department and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — has been in the news for the last three years.

With an estimated cost of Rs 575.2 crore, of which JICA will provide Rs 468.2 crore and the rest by the state government, the project will cover 15 forest divisions and five wildlife divisions. It relies heavily on the 96 allied government agencies, 800 joint forest management committees, 140 committees and 3760 self-help groups.

The districts to be covered include Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Pilibhit, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Sonebhadra, Allahabad, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jhansi, Balrampur, Shrawasti and Chitrakoot. The five wildlife divisions are Dudhwa, Katarniaghat, Sohelwa, Kasi and Kaimur.

Singh said the project focuses largely on Bundelkhand and will target poverty. It will be beneficial for villagers dependent on the forest produce for their livelihood.

Regarding the impact of the project in the wildlife divisions, the PCCF (wildlife) BK Pattnaik said it will develop the bio-tourism sector and the bio-diversity hot spots. Afforestation, an important component of the project, will be done in accordance to the local wildlife species, he added.

A senior representative of JICA, Yumoko Asakuma, said the project will strengthen the ties between Japan and India. “For the next eight years, the project will empower village communities and the self-help groups to open new livelihood options and add to the existing forest cover,” said Asakuma.