Natural Vegetation of India

• Tropical Evergreen Rain Forests
• Deciduous or Monsoon Type of Forests
• Tropical dry Deciduous Forests
• Arid Forests and Desert Vegetation
• Tidal or Mangrove Forests
• Mountain Forests

Forest Cover of India

• 34 Percent geographical area under forest cover till 2015
• The total forested area in India is about 63.73 million hectares.
• In the last 10 years, forest cover in the country has increased by 3.31 million hectares, showing an average 0.46% increase every year.

Problems of Forestry
Over grazing	Forest Fire	Reckless Cutting of Trees	Jhum Cultivation

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Government Initiatives

• Reserve & Protected forests
• Van Mahotsav Programme → Thousands of trees are planted every year in the months of July and August
• Forest Research Institute at Dehradun → For promotion and preservation the forests properly
• National Forest policy

National Forest Policy, 1988

• Conservation of Biodiversity, Afforestation & Check of soil erosion
• 33 % Geographical area shall be forest covered
• Develop Social Forestry → (Agro Forestry, Community Forestry & Forestry by officials)

Social Forestry

• Mainly to reduce pressure on traditional forests by planting trees esp. for fuel wood, Timber & other social supplies
• Help in checking water and wind erosion by acting as shelter belts
• Employment & additional income generation

Agro Forestry	Planting trees & agricultural crops together on farms                          for food, fuel, fodder, timber & fruits Forestry + Agriculture Trees bind soil and acts as shelter belts thus check                                 soil erosion Deep roots of trees trap new nutrients and bring them                            close to the surface Leguminous trees fix atmospheric nitrogen, thus                               improves fertility of the soil Soil nutrient increases due to addition and deposition                          of leaf litter
Community Forestry	Trees Planted by community in their respected colonies
Forestry by officials	Trees planted by forest departments to cater needs of                              community esp. along Roads, canals, Railways etc.

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Forest Protection by Government officials

Reserved Forests	Under direct supervision of the government Area notified under the provisions of FRA No public entry is allowed for collection of timber or                    grazing About 54 % of total forest area Has full degree of protection All activities are prohibited unless permitted
Protected Forests	Area notified under the provisions of FRA All activities are permitted unless prohibited Looked after by the gov. Has limited degree of protection Local people are allowed to collect fuel wood,                            timber & to graze their animals without causing serious                     damage to the forests About 29 % of total forest area
Unprotected Forests	No restriction on cutting trees or cattle grazing About 18 % of total forest area

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Forest & Wildlife Protection Programmes by Government

National Park

• Relatively large area consisting of one or more ecosystems, operates at National Level
• No human activity or settlement allowed i.e. human interference is totally prohibited
• Villagers cannot graze their animals + Extremely strict rules about jungle produce collection for ex. Honey

Wildlife Sanctuary

• Regulated human activities are allowed → Grazing of animals, Firewood collection, Tourism
• can be created for a particular specie which is not the case with national; operates at State Level
• A sanctuary can be upgraded to a National park but not vice versa

Biosphere Reserve

• Unique ecosystem of terrestrial & coastal areas internationally recognized by UNESCO under Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme
• People are allowed to live, own private land & carry own traditional activities but only in outer zone

Core zone	Central area that has to be kept undisturbed of all                                     activities except research (which don’t disturb wildlife)
Buffer zone	Some light activities like tourism, fishing, grazing etc.                                          are allowed which don’t disturb the core zone. Research activities are encouraged here
Transition zone	Outmost part & not delimited but activities have to be  harmonious with the biosphere reserve

Conservation Reserves

• Can be declared by the State Governments in any area                                     owned by the government
• Particularly the areas adjacent to National Parks and                                         Sanctuaries and those areas which link one Protected                                               Area with another
• Such declaration should be made after having consultations                                with the local communities

Community Reserves

• Can be declared by the State Government in any private or                            community land, not comprised within a National Park, Sanctuary                             or a Conservation Reserve
• Mainly where an individual or a community has volunteered to                            conserve wildlife and its habitat