In a short span of eight years, Andhra Pradesh has come close to achieving the National Forest Policy objectives in north coastal Andhra through its joint forest management (JFM) programme.The impact of the JFM includes an increase in the forest density from 0.6 per cent to 0.8 per cent and the green cover by 15 per cent, an increase in the production of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) and agricultural produce, the prevention of soil erosion, improvement in groundwater levels and a check on smuggling of timber.