Essays

The word 'Forest' is derived from the Latin word 'Fores' which means 'outside', Thus, it must have always referred to a village outskirt or fence or boundary which must have included all cultivated as well as uncultivated land. Various types of forests are found in India. Today/ of course, forests refer to vast areas of land covered with thick vegetation, trees and animals dwelling within. Climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature along with soil determine the kind of natural vegetation that will be found in a particular place- Places that receive more than 200 cm of annual rainfall have Evergreen Rain forests. Areas receiving rainfall between 200 and 100 cm have Monsoon Deciduous trees while Drier Deciduous or Tropical Savannah forests are found in areas receiving 50 to 100 cm of rains per annum. Places which receive less than 50 cm annually have only Dry Thorny Vegetation.

Owing to the physical diversity of India, a great variety of vegetation is found in different parts of the country. Ranging from Tropical Wet Evergreen to Tropical Moist Deciduous to Tropical Dry Evergreen to Sub-Tropical dry evergreen, broad-leaved or pined to Himalayan Dry Temperate to Sub-Alpine and Dry Alpine -16 kinds and sub-types of forests are found here.

Indian forests are also classified on the basis of statutes, ownership, composition and exploitability. The legal or administrative classification is done to protect forests against indiscriminate cutting of trees. The forests in India have been divided into (i) Reserved, (ii) Protected and (iii) Unclassified. The first two categories are permanent forests which are maintained for regular supply of timber and other forest products. They are also maintained to restore the ecological balance. The Reserved forests in India cover about 54% of the total forest area of the country while 29% of the total forest area is Protected. The remaining 17% is the Unclassified forest area which is mainly unproductive and unprofitable. Another classification is based on ownership of the forests. Most of the forests are owned by the Government through the means of its departments such as forests department etc. Some are' owned by corporate bodies. A negligible 1% area is owned privately by states like Meghalaya, Orissa, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Forests make up for one of the major natural resources of a country. Their use in fuel, timber and industrial raw material cannot be undermined. Bamboos, canes, herbs, medicines, lac, grasses, leaves, oil etc are all received from the forests. India has about 5,000 kinds of variety of woods out of which more than 400 are commercially used. Hard Woods such as Teak, Mahogany, Logwood, Ironwood, Ebony, Sal, Greenheart, Kikar, Semal etc are used in making of furniture, tools and wagons. Soft woods such as Deodar, Poplar, Pine, Fir, Cedar. Balsam are light, durable and easy to work. Therefore, they are used in constructions and as raw material for making paper pulp. But unfortunately. 70% of the hard wood is burnt as fuel and only 30% is used commercially. On the other hand. 70% of soft wood is used in industries while 30% is used for fuel purposes. Thus, forests meet about 40% of the energy requirement of the country which includes 80% of the rural requirements.

Moreover, forests help in the control of soil erosion and control floods to a considerable extent. Forests also check the spreading of desert through strong winds. They also add humidity to the atmosphere which also helps in the spread of desert. The humus added to the soil increases the soil fertility and temper the extremes of climate by reducing the heat in summers and the cold in winters. They also check the velocity of winds and hence lessen the process of evaporation. Vast forests tracts have been cleared to be used for agriculture and the wood is burnt as fuel- Overgrazing is also responsible for deforestation.

Thus, keeping in mind their great use, forests should be conserved and protected in India. The Government has made many efforts to increase the forest cover in the country. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is implementing a National Afforestation Programme (NAP) scheme with   people's participation including involvement of non government persons, rural and local people living in and around the forest areas to increase forest and tree cover (FTC) in the country. The scheme is being implemented through a decentralized mechanism of State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) at State level. Forest Development Agency (FDA) at Forest Division level and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) at the village level. 13th Finance Commission has recommended ? 5000 crores for five years starting from 2010-11 for conservation and development of forests and ? 625 crores have been released to various States during the year 2010-11, In 1988, a New Forest Policy was introduced to maintain ecological balance, preservation of forests as natural heritage, prevention of soil erosion, check on the expansion of deserts, increase in the forest area to increase forest productivity and to propel a  as movement to achieve these objectives. Van Mahotsava was initiated in 1950 and the famous Chipko Movement stands as an example of the effect of people's movement. In 1987, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education which was created was converted into an autonomous body called Forest Research Institute.

Wildlife constitutes of animals, birds, insects etc living in the forests. With the baffling variety of forests in India, the wildlife wealth is equally diverse and perplexing. There are about 76,000 species of animals in India which comprise of about 82% of known species of the world, India has a variety of birds mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Elephant is the largest Indian mammal found in the forests of Assam, West Bengal, Central India, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Rhinoceros is India's second largest mammal whose number has considerably decreased and is now confined to the forests of Assam and West Bengal under strict protection in the famous Kaziranga and Manas Sanctuaries of Assam and Jalddpara Sanctuary in West Bengal, The Wild Buffalo is found in Assam, Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh while the Great Indian Bison is found in the forests of the Central India. Tigers are found in the forests of Eastern Himalayan foothills and in a few areas of South India. Along with Tigers, the number of Cheetahs too have dwindled who are now surviving under protection and breeding programmes in the Gir Sanctuary, Gujarat. Leopard is found in Northern parts of Assam. Lynn and Yak in Ladakh along with Brown, Black and Sloth Bear too in the Himalayan Region. Black Panther is found in widely distributed areas and the desert and Jungle Cats are found in the North-Western parts of the country. Several species of Wild Sheep and goats too are found. Deer, Stag too are common but have reduced in numbers considerably. Monkeys, Langurs, Chinkaras too are common as well as the Blue Bull, the Four-horned Antelope or the Chawsingha, Wild Dog, Fox. Jackal, the Hyena, the Mongoose, Shrews, Hedgehogs, Mole, Bats, Rodents and Squirrels. There is abundance of reptiles like Cobra, Krait, Russel Vipers, Dhamaa a non-poisonous large snake, Rock Python, Marsh Crocodiles, Gharial, Lizards, Chameleon, Monitor Lizards, TUrtles etc.

India can proudly boast of about 2,000 species of birds in India which is thrice the amount of the birds in all the countries of Europe put together. Aquatic birds like Storks/ Herons, Ducks, Flamingoes, Egrets, Cormorants are found along with waders and shore birds like the Sea Gulls, Snipes, Iluses, Cranes and Lapwings. The Great Indian Bustard, Pea Fowl, Jungle Fowl, Quail and Patridge are the main ground birds along with Babblers, Barbits, Bulbuls, Mynas, Pigeons, Parakeets, Doves, Cuckoos. Rollers, Beaters, Fly catchers. Orioles, Warblers, Wagtails, Finchlarks, Finches, Drongos and Hoops. Prey birds such as Owls, Eagles, Kites, Fallows and Kestrel too are found in large numbers. Peacock, is rightly the National bird of India symbolizing the vast variety of our Bird-wealth with its rich and magnificent plumage.

Unfortunately, our wildlife has been adversely affected by the fast dwindling forest wealth. Large number of species have got reduced in numbers, others are endangered and still others are on the verge of extinction. This has adversely contributed to the disturbance of the ecological balance. Moreover, poaching and illegal killing of animals for their fur. skin, teeth, hair etc has helped in the reduction of wildlife population.

To put a check on this, Indian Board for Wild Life was made in 1952 with its main function as an advisory board advicing the government on how to conserve and protect wildlife with the construction of National Parks, Sanctuaries, Zoological gardens etc- The Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972 is a strict law and gives a firm footing to National Parks and Sanctuaries. The endangered species of plants and animals have been classified under this Act for protection. Project Tiger was launched in 1973 under which 21 Tiger Reserves have been created. To check intensive land use practices like mining, construction of road and railway lines affecting the tiger habitat and corridors, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has set up d W-member committee of experts in 2011. The committee will also appraise ongoing demand for diversion of habitat areas towards infrastructure projects in tiger range states.

Alongwith the efforts of the government, people's awareness and co-operation is needed in order to conserve and protect these invaluable Natural Resources of our country. Then only can the efforts of the government be given a concrete direction and then only the conservation goals can be achieved.