question_answer

  Distinguish between 'Reserved Forests' and 'Protected Forests'.

Answer:

                  Reserved Forests were the forests which produced commercially valuable timber, like deodar and sal. Protected Forests were the forests which produced non-commercial wood. No pastoralist was allowed an access to the reserved forests. But in the protected forests, some customary grazing rights of pastoralists were granted, but their movements were severely restricted. The colonial officials believed that grazing destroyed the saplings and young shoots of trees and thus prevented new trees from growing. Through various Forests Acts, forests were declared 'Reserved' and 'Protected' by the British Government.