Chapter-2
Forest and Wildlife resources
Notes
According to I.U.C.N. existing plant and animal species are divided into 6 categories.
- Normal Species- The species whose population leaves are considered to be normal for their survival eg. Cattle, Sal.
- Endangered Species- The species which are in the danger of extinction. The survival is very difficult if the negative factors like- hunting, deforestation etc. continued. Eg- Indian Wild Ass.
- Vulnerable Species- The species whose population are declined. They may move into the endangered category in the near future. Eg- Asiatic elephant.
- Rare Species- The Species with small population. They may move into the endangered or vulnerable category in the near future.
- Endemic Species- The Species which are found only in particular areas. Eg- Nicobar Pigeon.
- Extinct Species– The Species which are nor found after searches. Eg- Pink head duck, etc.
Causes for the Depletion of flora and fauna-
- Transforming nature into a resource. Eg- Tress into furniture.
- Expansion of railways, agriculture, scientific forestry etc. during colonial periods.
- Shifting cultivation (slash and burn) practiced in Tribal belts.
- Large scale development projects, Eg- Narmada valley project in Madhya Pradesh. Nearly 40000 hectares of land forest have inundated.
- Mining, Eg- Buna Tiger Reserve in west Bengal is threatened by the ongoing do lomite mining.
- According to the environmentalists, grazing and furl-wood collectors are the major causes for the depletion for the flora and fanna.
Factors that led to the decline in bio-diversity-
- Habitat destruction, hunting, Poaching, Environmental pollution, Poisoning, forest fires etc. are some of the cause for the decline in bio-diversity.
Causes for the environmental degradation-
- Inequitable consumption of resources, differential sharing of responsibility to protect the environment.
- Over population in third-world countries.
The Destruction of forests and wildlife is not just a biological issue-Explain?
- Bio logical loss is correlated with the cultural loss.
- Many indigenous and forest dependent communities are marginalized and impoverished.
- Within the por, the women are affected more than men, because they take the responsibility of collection of fuel, fodder and water.
- Walking more than 10 km, per day to collect these, will create health problems to the women and also do not get time to look after home and children.
- Droughts and deforestation induced floods are the other results of deforestation.
- Poverty is the direct outcome of deforestation.
Steps taken by the government to protect flora and fauna-
- The Indian wildlife act was implemented in 1972 to protect the habitats.
- It aimed banned hunting, protecting habitats and restricting trade in wildlife.
- Many national parts and wildlife sanctuaries were set up by central and state governments.
- Projects like tiger project, rhinocerous were announced.
- Under the wildlife the act of 1980 and 1986 several hundreds of butterflies, moths etc. were included in the list of protected species.
- In 1991, for the first time, six species of plants were also included in the list.
Types and distribution of forests-
- Reserved Forests-More than half of the total forest area comes under reserved forests. They have great important to conserve forests and wildlife. Eg. J.K.
- Protected Forests- Almost one-third of the total forest area comes under protected forests. Eg- Punjab, Haryana, Bihar.
- Un classed Forests- The Forest and weste lands belongs to both government and private individuals and communities. Eg- North-Eastern states.
Protected forests and Reserved forests are together known as permanent forests.
Madhya Pradesh has largest area under permanent forests.
How communities have conserved forests and wildlife-
- Many communities are struggling to conserve the habitats along with government officials.
- In Sariska Tiger reserve (Rajasthan) villagers fought against mining and protected the habitats of plants and animals.
- The inhabitants of 5 villages in Alwar district of Rajasthan have protected 1200 hectors of forest by making their own rules and regulations.
- The Chipko Movement in the Himalayan region resisted deforestation and encouraged afforestation program.
- The ecological farming like ‘BeelBachaoAndolan’ and ‘Navdanya’ were introduced by the farmers without the use of chemical fertilizers.
- The joint Forest Management (J.F.M.) programmed was started in Orissa in 1988 and introduced with the collaboration of villager.
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