Forest and wildlife Flashcards
__ % of India’s wild flora and ___ % of mammals are on the threatened list
10
20
Total forest and tree cover
% of total geo area
Types of forests
807276 sq km
24.56%
dense forest: 12.4
mangrove forest: 0.15
open forest: 9.26
IUCN
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Normal Species
Population levels are normal for their survival
Rodent, sal, pine, cattle
Endangered Species
Danger of extinction
Indian Wild Ass, Indian Rhino, Black Buck, Crocodile, lion tailed macaque, sangai
Endemic Species
Species which are only found in certain areas usually isolated by geographical or natural barriers
Andaman teal, andaman wild pig, nicobar pigeon, mithun (arunachal pradesh)
Vulnerable Species
Species whose populations have declined such that they are likely to be endangered if the negative factors continue
blue sheep, asiatic elephant, gangetic dolphin
Rare Species
Small population that may move into the endangered or vulnerable category
brown bear, wild asiatic buffalo, desert fox, hornbill
Extinct Species
Species which are not found after searches in known areas or likely areas where they may occur
Asiatic cheetah, pink head duck
Factors leading to forest depletion
- Colonial era: expansion of railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific mining and forestry
- Post independence: agricultural land
- Enrichment plantation: teak, chir pine
- Dolomite mining: buxa tiger reserve in WB (had blocked migration routes)
- Large scale developmental projects: Narmada Sagar Project in MP
- Grazing + fuelwood collection: most is via lopping and not felling
Himalayan Yew
- taxus wallachiana
- Himachal P, Arunachal P
- Taxol compound is extracted
- Used to treat cancer
- Threat of over-exploitation
Factors: decline in indian biodiversity
- hunting
- poaching
- poisoning
- forest fires
- env pollution
- overexploitation
- habitat destruction
- unequal access
- inequitable usage of resources
- differential sharing of responsibility
- overpopulation
Social impacts of biological loss
- Marginalise and impoverish indigenous communities that depend on forests for livelihoods, medicine, culture, spirituality etc
- Women, typically assigned the job of collecting firewood, fodder and water in rural families, are worst affected by depletion of resources as they are forced to walk great distanced. Leads to health issues and neglect of children
- Environmental crises like floods and droughts affect the poor the hardest and directly cause poverty
Why do we need conservation
- preserves ecological diversity
- preserves our life systems: air, water, soil
- preserves genetic diversity for better growth of species and breeding
ex: agriculture dependent on traditional crop varieties, fisheries
Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act
1972
Provisions for protecting habitats:
- all-India list of protected species
- banning hunting, restricting trade, legal protection to habitat
- national parks + wildlife sanctuaries
- central govt projects for specific animals (project tiger, one horned rhinoceros, asiatic lion )
- full or partial legal protection against hunting/trade (indian elephant, black buck, snow leopard)
- recent notification, insects + plant species added to list of protected species
Project Tiger
- poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, growing human population, depletion of prey
- trade of skin and use of bones for medicine (asia)
- launched in 1973
- not just protecting endangered species, preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude
- Corbett National Park, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary, Sunderbans National Park (UK, Rj, WB)
Classification of forests ( by the Forest Dept)
- Reserved
- more than half
- most imp with regards to conservation - Protected
- almost one third
- protected from further depletion - Unclassed
- other forests and wastelands
- govt or privately owned
Permanent Forest Estates
Reserved and protected forests fall under this category
Aside from protection, they are maintained for producing timber + other forest produce
Distribution of various types of forests across states
Madhya Pradesh: highest % of permanent forests (>75% of total forest area)
High % of reserved forests: JnK, UK, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, WB
High % of protected forests: Haryana, Punjab, Odisha, Bihar, Himachal P, Rajasthan
High % of unclassed forests managed by local communities: NE states, Gujarat
Sacred groves
Patches of forests that are left untouched and interference with them is banned due to their religious significance, especially based on tribal beliefs, are sacred groves
Trees worshipped in India
Mahua, Kadamba
> Mundas, Santhal (Chhota Nagpur region)
Tamarin, Mango (weddings)
> Tribals of Odisha, Bihar
Peepal, Banyan
Other traditional methods of conserving
Sacred qualities are ascribed to springs, mountain peaks, plants/animals and protected
Macaques and langurs around temples, treated as devotees
Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan
Blackbuck, peacock, nilgai are seen as integral part of community
Community conservation efforts
- Sariska Tiger Reserve
- fought against mining, quote IW(P)A, reject govt involvement - Alwar district (Rjs)
- 1,200 hectares of forest “ Bhairodev Dakav Sonchuri”, rules and regulations against hunting, protection against encroachments - Chipko Movement
- Himalayas deforestation, community afforestation w indigenous species can be successful - Beej Bachao Andolan (tehri), Navdanya
- diversified crop prod w/o synthetic chemicals is possible and viable economically
JFM
Joint Forest Management
1988, Odisha
forms local institutions that protect degraded forest land managed by the forest dept
members are entitled to intermediary benefits like non-timber produces + timber harvested by ‘successful protection’
