Forest and Wildlife

Forest and Wildlife

           

            Biodiversity: Biodiversity or Biological Diversity is immensely rich in wildlife and cultivated species, diverse in form and function but closely integrated system through multiple networks of interdependencies.

           

            Flora and Fauna in India (facts)

            India - 8 per cent of the total number of species in the world (estimated to be 1.6 million).

            81,000 species of fauna and 47,000 species of flora are found in India.

            Out of 47,000 plants, about 15000 are indigenous to India.

            Estimates 10% of recorded flora and 29% mammals are in threatened list.

           

            Categories of existing plants and animals Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN):

1.         Normal Species: Species whose population levels are considered to be normal for their survival, such as cattle, sal, pine, rodents, etc.

2.         Endangered Species:  Danger of extinction. Examples- black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, Sangai (brow anter deer in Manipur), etc.

3.         Vulnerable Species:  declined to levels, to move into the endangered category in the near future if the negative factors continue to operate. The examples of such species are blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin, etc.

4.         Rare Species: Species with small population may move into the endangered or vulnerable category. The examples of such species are the Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox and hornbill, etc.

5.         Endemic Species:  Only found in some particular areas, usually isolated by natural or geographical barriers. Examples of such species are the Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig, mithun in Arunachal Pradesh.

6.         Extinct Species:  A species may be extinct from a local area, region, country, continent or the entire earth. Examples of such species are the Asiatic cheetah (declared extinct in 1952), pink head duck.

           

            Number of Endangered Species:

             79 species of mammals, 44 of birds, 15 of reptiles, and 3 of amphibians, 1,500     plant species are considered endangered.

           

            List of Critically Endangered Species: 

             Mountain Quail, Forest Spotted Owl, madhucha insignis (wild mahua), hubbardia heptaneuron (a grass species)

           

            Forest cover in India

            The forest cover in the country is estimated at 78.29 million hectare, which is 23.81 per cent of the total geographical area (According to state of Forest report 2011).

            (i) Dense forest: 12.30%

            (ii) Open forest: 8.75%

            (iii) Mangrove: 0.14%

           

           

            Causes of Depletion of Flora and Fauna:

1.         Greatest damage during colonial period

            (A) For railways sleepers

            (B) For ships (royal navy of Britain)

            (C) Mining

            (D) Plantations- tea, coffee etc.

            (E) Commercial crops and food grains for Europe

            (F) Enrichment Plantation / Scietific forestry: Promotion of a few favoured species, in many        parts of India, has been carried through the ironically-termed “enrichment plantation”, in which a single commercially valuable species was extensively planted and other species eliminated.

            Example 1 - Teak monoculture has damaged the natural forest in South India

            Example 2 - Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii) plantations in the Himalayas have replaced the Himalayan oak (Quercius spp.) and Rhododendron forests.

2.         Agricultural Expansion: Between 1951 and 1980:

            According to the Forest Survey of India, over 26,200 sq. km. of forest area was converted into agricultural land all over India.

3.         Jhum cultivation: Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the northeastern and central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation (jhum), a type of ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.

4.         Development Projects: Large-scale development projects have also contributed significantly to the loss of forests. Since 1951, over 5,000 sq km of forest was cleared for river valley projects. Clearing of forests is still continuing with projects like the Narmada Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh, which would inundate 40,000 hectares of forest.

5.         Mining: The Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal is seriously threatened by the ongoing dolomite mining. It has disturbed the natural habitat of many species and blocked the migration route of several others, including the great Indian elephant.

            Social Effect of Resource Depletion:

1.         As these resources are depleted, the drudgery of women increases and sometimes they have to walk for more than 10 km to collect these resources. This causes serious health problems for women and negligence of home and children because of the increased hours of work, which often has serious social implications

2.         The indirect impact of degradation such as severe drought or deforestation-induced floods, etc. also hits the poor the hardest.

3.         The biological loss is strongly correlated with the loss of cultural diversity.Communities lost their habitat and consequently later their indigenous culture.

           

            Conservation of forest and wildlife (steps by government)

1.         The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: banning hunting, giving legal protection to their habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife.

2.         Project Tiger 1973 :

             20th century- 55,000 tigers, 1973- 1,827 tigers, 1993- 3600 tigers

             There are 39 Tiger reserves in India.

            Important Tiger reserves in India:

            (1) Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand,

            (2) Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal,

            (3) Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh

            (4) Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan

            (5) Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam

            (6) Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala

            (7) Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan

3.         Notification under Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species.

4.         In 1991, for the first time plants were also added to the list, starting with six species.

5.         Government's Categorization of Forests:

            (i) Reserved Forests: More than half of the total forest land has been declared reserved forests. Reserved forests are regarded as the most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned.

            (ii) Protected Forests: Almost one-third of the total forest area is protected forest, as declared by the Forest Department. This forest land are protected from any further depletion.

            (iii) Unclassed Forests: These are other forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities.

           

            Community and Conservation

1.         In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act.

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.         The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas has not only successfully resisted deforestation

4.         Farmers and citizen’s groups like the 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.

5.         Joint forest management (JFM) programme: The programme has been in formal existence since 1988 when the state of Orissa passed the first resolution for joint forest management.

6.         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). These patches of forest or parts of large forests have been left untouched by the local people

7.         The Mundas and the Santhal of Chhota Nagpur region worship mahua (Bassia latifolia) and kadamba (Anthocaphalus cadamba) trees, and the tribals of Orissa and Bihar worship the tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and mango (Mangifera indica) trees during weddings. To many of us, peepal and banyan trees are considered sacred.

8.         In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck, (chinkara), and peacocks, monkeys etc. can be seen as an integral part of the community and nobody harms them.