Forest and Wildlife Resources Flashcards
What is biodiversity?
Bio diversity or biological diversity is immensely rich in wildlife and cultivated species, diverse in form and function but closely integrated in the system through multiple network of interdependencies.
Explain the Indian wildlife (protection) act 1972
The thrust of the national wildlife protection Programme:
i) Protecting the remaining population of certain endangered species by banning hunting
ii) Giving legal protection to their habitat and restricting trade in wildlife.
Conservation of forest and wildlife
1) The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was implemented in 1972, with various provisions for protecting habitat. An all India list of protected species was also published.
2) Central and many state governments established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
3) The central government also announced several projects for protecting specific animals, which were gravely threatened, including - the tiger, the one horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles – fresh water crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the Gharial, the Asiatic lion, and others. Most recently, the Indian elephant, black buck (chinkara), the great Indian bustard (godawan) and the snow leopard, etc. have been given full or partial legal protection against hunting and trade throughout India.
4) Under Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species.
5) In 1991, for the first time plants were also added to the list, starting with six species.
Important Tiger reserves in India
Corbett National Park - Uttarakhand
Sunderbans National Park - West Bengal
Bandhavgarh National Park - Madhya Pradesh
Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary - Rajasthan
Manas Tiger Reserve - Assam
Periyar Tiger Reserve - Kerala
Classification of forests
The forests are classified under the following categories:
1) Reserved Forest – In India more than half of the total forest land is declared as reserved forest. These forest are regarded as the most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned.
Areas : Madhya Pradesh(75%), Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
2) Protected Forest –1/3rd of the forest area consists of protected forests as declared by the forest department. These forests are protected from further depletion.
Areas : Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan.
3) Unclassed Forest – forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities.
Areas : North eastern states and few parts of Gujarat
Permanent Forest Estates
Reserved and protected forests are also referred to as permanent forest estates maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forest produce and for protective reasons
Project Tiger
1) Project Tiger’ was launched in 1973 for conservation of tiger population in India. The authorities realised that the tiger population had dwindled to 1,827 from an estimated 55,000 at the turn of the century.
2) The major threats to tiger population are –
a) poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population, etc.
b) The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in the Asian countries left the tiger population on the verge of extinction.
3) “Project Tiger”, one of the well-publicized wildlife campaigns in the world. Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save an endangered species, but with equal importance as a means of preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude.
Community and Conservation
1) In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act. In many areas, villagers themselves are protecting habitats and explicitly rejecting government involvement.
2) The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 hectares of forest as the Bhairodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri’, declaring their own set of rules and regulations which do not allow hunting, and are protecting the wildlife against any outside encroachments.
3) CHIPKO MOVEMENT: It was started in Himalayan region and successfully resisted deforestation. It has shown that community can play an important role in afforestation .
4) Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya have shown that adequate levels of diversified crop production without the use of synthetic chemicals are possible and economically viable by developing new methods of ecological farming.
Joint Forest Management Programme (JFM)
Joint Forest Management Programme (JFM) is a good example of how local communities were involved in the management and restoration of degraded forests. The progamme has been in existence since 1988 in the state of Orissa when the first resolution was passed for joint forest management. Under this programme local or village institutions undertake protection activities on degraded forest land managed by the forest department and in return local communities get benefits like non timber forest produces and share in timber harvest by “successful protection”. Thus JFM, shows that the local communities should be involved everywhere in the natural resource management.
What are the main factors responsible for decline in India’s biodiversity?
a) Habitat destruction, hunting, poaching,
b) over- exploitation of resources
c) Environmental pollution,
d) Natural disasters and forest fires
e) Other factors - Unequal access, inequitable consumption of forest resources.
What are the adverse effects of the decline of India’s biodiversity?
Frequent occurrence of floods and droughts.
Impoverishment of forest- dependent communities.
Increase in drudgery of human of forest communities whose main work is collection of fuelwood, fodder, water etc from forests.
Pollution of environment.
Ecological imbalance.
Why is it important to conserve our biodiversity?
It preserves ecological diversity
It preserves our life support system – water, air and soil.
It preserves Genetic diversity of plants and animals for better growth of species and breeding.
They support variety of industries and provide livelihood for many communities.
They offer scenic view for recreation
What are sacred groves? Explain with examples.
Sacred Groves : Nature worship is an age old tribal belief based on the premise that all creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves (the forests of God and Goddesses).
For Example:
1) The MUNDAS and SANTHALS of Chhota Nagpur worship Mahua (Bassia latifolia) and Kadamba trees (Anthocaphalus cadamba).
2) The tribals of Orissa and Bihar worship Tamarind (Tamarindus indica), Mango Tree (Mangifera indica) during wedding.
3) Other trees like tulsi, neem, and peepal are also considered sacred.
4) Certain animals like Macaques and langurs are found in some temples. The Bishnoi tribes of Rajasthan significantly played an important role towards preservation of black buck, nilgai and peacock.
5) Sacred qualities are often ascribed to springs, mountain peaks, plants and animals which are closely protected.
Discuss the various negative factors responsible for depletion of flora and fauna?
i) Over Utilisation of forest products - Forest provide many products like wood medicines, dyes, food, fuel, fodder, manure etc.
ii) The greatest damage caused during Colonial period was due to expansion of the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry and mining activities.
iii) After Independence, agricultural development was a major cause of depletion of forests. Extensive parts of the tribal belts especially in the north eastern states and central India have been deforested by shifting agriculture or slash and burn agriculture.
iv) Large scale development projects like clearing of forest for river valley projects like Narmada Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh which would submerge 40,000 hectares of forest.
v) Mining is another major cause for deforestation. Buxa Tiger reserve in West Bengal has been under great threat due to dolomite mining. It has disturbed the natural habitat of the Great Indian Elephant and migration of several species.
vi) In some areas fuel collection and grazing are also major cause of depletion of forest.
Write a note on good practices towards forest and wildlife conservation
Conservation of forest and wildlife was prevalent as nature worship is common among tribal communities and in villages e.g. tulsi plants and banana leaves. Such cultural beliefs helped preserve the plant and animal species. Large-scale people’s movement like the Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand and the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri indicate involvement of local communities in conserving forests and wildlife.
