Forest And Wildlife Resources Notes in English Class 10 Geography Chapter 2 Book-Contemporary India

• The Earth is a residential place on which we live, which is full of immense biodiversity. 

• Humans and other living organisms form a complex ecosystem, of which we are just a part and depend on its various elements for our survival.

• Forests play a vital role in the ecosystem because they are the primary producers on which all other living organisms depend.

• India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of biodiversity. 

• 8 percent (about 16 lakhs) of all biological species of the world are found here

Conservation of Forests and Wildlife in India

• Due to the rapid decline in wildlife and forests, their conservation has become very necessary. 

• Conservation ensures that ecological diversity is maintained and our life-sustaining resources like water, air and soil are preserved. 

• It also preserves the genetic diversity in plants and animals for better breeding among different species. 

• During the 1960s and 1970s, environmentalists strongly called for a national wildlife protection program. 

• The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was enacted in 1972 which had many provisions for protecting the habitats of wild animals. 

• The list of protected castes was also published all over India. 

• Under this programme, strong emphasis has been laid on saving the remaining endangered species, banning hunting, legal protection of wildlife habitats and banning trade of wild animals etc. 

• The central government and many state governments established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. 

• The Central Government also announced several projects aimed at providing protection to certain critically endangered wild animals. 

• These animals include tiger, one-horned rhinoceros, Kashmir deer or hangul, three types of crocodiles freshwater crocodile, saltwater crocodile and gharial, Asiatic lion, and others. 

• Some time back, legal protection has been given to Indian elephant, black buck, chinkara, Indian bustard and snow leopard etc. by imposing complete or partial ban on their hunting and trade.

• Various methods of conservation are being explored intensively. Insects are also gaining importance in conservation planning.

• Hundreds of butterflies, moths, beetles and a dragonfly are also protected species under the Wildlife Protection Acts 1980 and 1986. 

• In 1991, 6 species of plants were also included in this list for the first time

Project Tiger

• Tiger is an important wild species in the wildlife structure. 

• In 1973, officials found that the country’s tiger population had dropped from an estimated 55,000 at the start of the 20th century to just 1,827. 

• Killing tigers and stealing them for trade, shrinking of habitats, decreasing number of wild species needed for food and increase in population are the main reasons for the decreasing number of tigers. 

• The trade in tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines in Asian countries has put the species on the verge of extinction. 

• Since India and Nepal provide habitat for two-thirds of the world's damselflies, these countries are the main targets for poaching, theft and illegal trade. 

• 'Project Tiger' is one of the best wildlife projects in the world and it was started in 1973. 

• Bath conservation is not just an effort to save a single endangered species, but it also aims to save a much larger species. 

• Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are examples of tiger conservation projects in India.

Types and distribution of forest and wildlife resources

• If we want to conserve forests and wildlife resources, their management, control and regulation is relatively difficult. 

• Most forests and wildlife in India are either directly under government jurisdiction or managed by the government through the Forest Department or other departments.

Division of forests 

Reserved forests 

• More than half of the forest area in the country has been declared as reserved forests. As far as conservation of forests and wildlife is concerned, reserved forests are considered most valuable.

Reserved Forests

• According to the department, one-third of the country's total forest area is protected. These forests are protected to prevent them from being destroyed further.

Unclassified  Forest 

• All other types of forests and wastelands owned by the government, individuals and communities are called unclassified forests.

• Reserved and protected forests are permanent forest areas maintained for the purpose of timber, other forest materials and their protection. 

• Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests, which is 75 percent of the total forest area of ​​the state. 

• Besides, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra also have a large proportion of reserved forests in total forests; whereas Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan have a large proportion of protected forests in total forests. 

• In all the North-Eastern States and in Gujarat, most of the forest areas are unclassified forests and are managed by local communities.

Community and Forest Conservation

• Forests are also the habitat of some human species in our country. 

• In some areas of India, local communities are working together with government authorities to preserve their homes as this is the only way to fulfil their needs in the long run. 

• Villagers in Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve are fighting to stop mining operations there under the Wildlife Protection Act. 

• In many areas, people themselves are protecting wildlife habitats and are not accepting any interference from the government. 

• In Alwar district of Rajasthan, people of 5 villages have declared 1,200 hectares of forest land as 'Bhairondev Dakav Sanctuary' which has its own rules and regulations; which prohibit hunting and protect the wildlife here from intrusion by outsiders.

• The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas not only succeeded in stopping deforestation in many areas but also showed that community forestry campaigns can be made successful by using local plant species. 

• The Seed Bachao Andolan of farmers in Tehri and Navdanay have shown that economically viable agricultural production is possible through diversified crop production even without the use of chemical fertilizers.

• Joint Forest Management programmes in India highlight the importance of the role of local communities in managing and rebuilding degraded forests. 

• These programmes formally began in 1988 when the state of Odisha passed the first proposal for joint forest management. 

• 'Joint Forest Management' under the Forest Department works for the conservation of degraded forests and in this, institutions are formed at the village level in which villagers and forest department officials work jointly. 

• In return, these communities are entitled to intermediate benefits such as non-timber forest products and also share in the timber profits arising from successful conservation.

• The processes of environmental destruction and reconstruction in India teach that local communities must be involved in natural resource management everywhere. 

• But local communities are yet to play a key role in the decision-making process. 

• Therefore, only those development activities should be accepted which are focused on people, are environment friendly and are economically rewarding.