Conservation of Forest Resources

7/30/2019 Conservation of Forest Resources

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Vanishing forestsThe dimensions of deforestation in Indiaare staggering. The forest cover in thecountry is estimated at 637, 293 sq. km.,which is 19.39% of the total geographical

area. (dense forest 11.48% ; open forest7.76% ; and mangrove 0.15%). Accordingto the state of forest report (1999), thedense forest cover has increased by10.098 sq. km. since 1997. However, thisapparent increase in the forest cover is

due to plantation by different agencies.The state of forest report does notdifferentiate between natural forests andplantations. Therefore, these reportsfailed to deliver accurate informationabout actual loss of natural forests.


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Do you know???About 47,000 species of flora and over81,000 species of fauna are found in India.Of this estimated 47,000 plant species,about 15,000 flowering species belong to

India

Do you know that among the largeranimals in India, 79 species of mammals,44 of birds, 15 of reptiles and 3 of

amphibians are threatened? Nearly 1500plant species are considered endangered.Flowering plants and vertebrate animalshave recently become extinct at a rateestimated to be 50 to 100 times the averageexpected natural rate.


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Types of SpeciesThe international union for conservation of nature and natural resources have

given us a classification of existing plants and animal kingdom based on their

characteristics and the threat they are facing due to human intervention and

many other specific factors causing their loss:

- Normal Species: species whose population levels are considered to be

normal for their survival, such a cattle, Sal, pine, rodents, etc.

- Endangered Species: these are species which are in danger of extinction.

The survival of such species is difficult if the negative factors that have led to a

decline in their population continue to operate. The examples of such species

are black buck, crocodile, etc.


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-- Vulnerable Species: These are species whose population has declined to

levels from where it is likely to move into the endangered category in the

near future if the negative factors continue to operate. The examples of

such species are blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin, etc.

Rare Species:Species with small population may move into the

endangered or vulnerable category if the negative factors affecting them

continue to operate. The examples of such species are the Himalayan

brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox and hornbill, etc.

-Endemic Species: These are species which are only found in some

particular areas usually isolated by natural or geographical barriers.

Examples of such species are the Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman

wild pig, mithun in Arunachal Pradesh.


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Extinct Species: These are species which are not found after searchesof known or likely areas where they may occur. A species may be

extinct from a local area, region, country, continent or the entire

earth. Examples of such species are the Asiatic cheetah, pink head

duck.


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A Few extinct, rare and

endangered species


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Asiatic Cheetah

The worlds fastest land mammal, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubantus), is a

unique and specialized member of the cat family and can move at the

speed of 112 km./hr. The cheetah is often mistaken for a leopard. Its

distinguishing marks are the long teardrop shaped lines on each side of

the nose from the corner of its eyes to its mouth. Prior to the 20th century,

cheetahs were widely distributed throughout Africa and Asia. Today, the

Asian cheetah is nearly extinct due to a decline of available habitat and

prey. The species was declared extinct in India long back in 1952.


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Impact of human beings in

transforming the NatureImpact of human beings in transforming nature into a store house of forest and

animal resource such as wood, leaves, fodder, fuel wood, barks, rubber, dyes,

organic manure and medicinal plants on one hand and animal skin, hair, hide, milk

(dairy farm) meat, animals used in agricultural and transport activities. One of the

historical factors causing damage to our forest resource was during British time

when they started expanding commercial agriculture, mining activity, railways and

roadways to exploit Indian resources. It continued to expand even after

independence as our population grew over a period of time. Data given shows the

zone. Between 1951 and 1980, according to the forest survey of India, over 26,200 sq.

km of forest area was converted into agricultural land all over India. Substantial

parts of the tribal belts, especially in the north-eastern and central India, have been

deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation, a type of slash and burn agriculture.


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Tribal girls using bamboo saplings in a

nursery at Mukhali near Salient Valley

Tribal women selling minor forestproduce

Leaf litter collection by women folk


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Another biggest factor contributed significantly to the loss of flora andfauna, have been developmental projects such as big housing projects ofprivate builders like D.L.F. or Omaxe, multipurpose river valley projects likeTehri Dam, big thermal power projects like Badarpur in Delhi. Since 1951, over500 sq. km. of forest was cleared for river valley projects. Clearing of forests isstill continuing with projects like the Narmada Sagar Project in MadhyaPradesh, which would inundate 40,000 hectares of forests. Mining is anotherimportant factor behind deforestation. The buxa tiger reserved in west Bengalis seriously threatened by the ongoing dolomite mining. It has disturbed thenatural habitat of many species and blocked the migration route of several

others, including the great Indian elephant.Many ecologists and environmentalists have the opinion that over-grazing

and fuel wood cutting and collection in the forest area have also degraded ourforest resources. Though, there may be some substance in their argument, yet,the fact remains that a substantial part of the fuel-fodder demand is met bylopping rather than by felling entire trees. The forest ecosystems are

repositories of some of the countrys most valuable forest products, mineralsand other

resources that meet the demands of the rapidly

expanding industrial-urban economy.


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Habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife, subsequently, central and manystates governments established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries aboutwhich you have already studied. The central government also announcedseveral projects for protecting specific animals, which were gravely threatened,including the tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag, three types ofcrocodiles- fresh water crocodiles, salt water crocodiles and the Gharials, theAsiaticlion, and others. Most recently, the Indian elephant, black buck(chinkra), the great Indian bustard (godawan) and the snow leopard, etc. havebeen given full or partial legal protection against hunting and trade throughoutIndia.


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National Park

Dachigam

Jim Corbett

Sariska Dudwa

Ranthambor Shivpuri

Kanha

KanheriPocharam

GuindyBandipur

Periyar

Rajdewra

Simlipal

Sunder Bans

Manos

Kaziranga

INDIA


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Project

TigerTiger is one of the key wildlife species

in the faunal web. In 1973, the authorities realized that the tiger population haddwindled to 1,827 from an estimated 55.000 at the turn of the century. The major

threats to tiger population are numerous, such as poaching for trade, shrinkinghabitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population, etc. the tradeof tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in theAsian countries left the tiger population on the verge of extinction. Since Indiaand Nepal provide habitat to about two-thirds of the surviving tigerpopulation in the world, these two nations

became prime targets foe poaching and illegaltrading.


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Project Tiger one of the well-publicized wildlifecampaigns in the world, was launched in 1973.initially, it showed success as the tiger populationwent up to 4,002 in 1982 and 4,334 in 1989. but in1993, the population of the tiger had dropped to3600. there are 27 tiger reserves in India coveringan area of 37,761 sq. km. tiger conservation hasbeen viewed not only as an effort to save anendangered species, but when equal importanceas a means of preserving biotypes of sizeablemagnitude.

Corbett national park in, Uttaranchal,Sunder bans national park in West

Bengal, Bandhavgarh national park inMadhya Pradesh, Sariska WildlifeSanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas TigerReserve in Assam and Periyar TigerReserve in Kerala in Kerala are some ofthe tiger reserves of India.


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Types Of Forests AndWildlife Resources

The forests and wildlife found in the country are being controlled andmanaged by the govt. through forest department. It is ratherdifficult to regulate and manage. Our forest wildlife resource withoutstudying them properly for which they are categories in the following

manner:(I) Reserved forests: More then half of the total forest land has been

declared reserved forest. Reserved forests are regarded as the mostvaluable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resourcesare concerned.

(II) Protected forests: Almost one-third of the total forest area isprotected forest, as declared by the Forest Department. This forestland are protected from any further depletion.


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(III) Unclassed forest: These are other forestsand waste lands belonging to bothgovernment and private individuals andcommunities.

Reserved and protected forests are alsoreferred to as permanent forest estatesmaintained for the purpose of producingtimber and other forest produce, and forprotective reasons. Madhya Pradesh has thelargest area under permanent forests,

constituting 75 per% of its total area. Jammuand Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh. Uttaranchal,Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, andMaharashtra have large percentages ofreserved forests of its total forests are therewhereas Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, HimachalPradesh, Orrisa and Rajasthan have a bulk ofit under protected forests. All North-easternstates and parts of Gujarat have a very highpercentage of their forests as un-classedforests managed by local communities.


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Role Of Community InConservation

Many local and traditional communities are living amidst forest area forcenturies with perfect understanding of the habitat. Over the years they haveevolved their over-conservation methods to protect wildlife and plants. Insome areas they are co-protecting and co-coordinating with govt. official inthis regard to secure their livelihood. In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan,

villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection act. Inmany areas, villagers themselves are protecting habitats and explicitlyrejecting government involvement. The inhabitants of five villages in theAlwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 hectares of forest as theBhairodev Dakav Sonchuri, declaring their own set of rules and regulationswhich do not allow hunting, and are protecting the wildlife against anyoutside encroachments.

In Uttaranchal state, deforestation has been a grim

problem causing lots of ecological imbalance, then came a local

resident and conservationist called S.L. Bahuguna who started


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Chipko Movement. It has been a successful community based afforestationprogramme. Attempts to revive the traditional conservation methods ordeveloping new methods of ecological farming are now widespread. Farmersand citizens groups like Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya haveshown that adequate levels of diversified crop production without the use of

synthetic chemicals are possible and economically viable.In India joint forest management (JFM) programme furnishes a good example

for involving local communities in the management and restoration of degradedforests. The programme has been in formalexistence since 1988 when the state of Orrisa passed the first resolution for jointforest management. JFM depends on the formation of local (village) institutionsthat undertake protection activities mostly on degraded forest land managed bythe forest department. In return, the members of these communities are entitledto intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produces and share in the timberharvested by successful protection. The clear lesson from the dynamics of bothenvironmental destruction and reconstruction in India is that local communitieseverywhere have tobe involved in some kind of natural resource management. But there is

still a long way to go before local communities are atthe centre-stage in decision-making. Accept only those

economic or developmental activities, that are peoplecentric, environment-friendly and economically rewarding.


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Working Forests- Three

Core Strategies Prevent the conversion of forestland to other uses

Maintain the economic reasons to keep forests as

forests-a viable industry in MD

Increase public confidence in and support forsustainable forestry practices


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TNCs approach

Protecting forests is too big a task for any onegroupwe need to work together.

Success will require building a new tool kit ofworking forest easements, tax policy, conservationplanning and incentives


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Protecting Forests: Working

forest easements Parsonfield, Maine:10,000 acre working foresto Property up for development into 15 parcelso TNC partnered with private investor to buy the property.

Investor gave TNC option to purchase an easement to buytime for us to raise $$

o TNC, working with state legacy program obtained the fundsto purchase easement with donation from town and privatefund raising- $2.5 m total.

o Land protected from development but will remain inworking forest

In four state area of NY, VT, NH, ME TNC has helpedpurchase 2.5 million acres of working foresteasements

Cost ~$300 million w/ State/Federal providing closeto $100 m, private investors providing over $100 m


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Protecting Forests: State

and Town Forests Nash State Forest- NH 49,000 acres

Errol Town Forest NH 2,000 acres

Randolph Town Forest NH 6,000 acres

Properties funded by bond issues, privatefundraising and forest legacy. All are managed as

working forests

S i h I d


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Supporting the Industry:Great Northern Paper

S ti th I d t


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Supporting the Industry:Great Northern Paper

TNC purchases $50 m in GNP debt from other lender

Trades $14 m in debt for 41,000 acres of reserves

Provides company with a lower interest rate note in

exchange for easement on 200,000 acres of keyconservation land ($36 m,7 years @4%. 4% iscurrently the cost of TNC capital)

S ti th I d t


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Supporting the Industry:Tax Credits

Federal New Market Tax Credits have been used tohelp private investors purchase forest land inexchange for conservation easements:

o 5 projects totaling $129 m in tax credits linked to

conservation on 1.5 million acres so far. MD has manycounties eligible

NMTC used to refinance 2 paper mills (ME) andpallet manufacturer (NM)

Expanding MDs state programs (current use,tradable tax deductions on gifts of easements - CO,VA)


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Supporting the Industry: Ecosystem Services-

Carbon markets

TNC has been major proponent of developingmarkets for carbon linked to protecting andrestoring forests:o 6 projects in US and overseas- $35 m in investment by utilities to reduce

greenhouse gases

Opportunity to work with NE governors to createregional market for greenhouse gases

B ildi bli


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Building public support:MA State Forests

Forest harvesting had ground to a halt in most stateowned land due to public concern over harvesting

TNC in partnership with state help broker a new

strategyo State designation of ecological reserves on about 20% of

state lands

o Certification of other state lands by third party programs

Early indications are that with proper controls, thepublic can accept long term forest managementas a tool for public lands.


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Conservation and

Working Forests- Yes! We can help each other

Build community commitment to protecting forestsby proactive strategy of conservation and industryworking together.

Documents

Conservation of Forest Resources