Forest and Wildlife Resources

We are living and sharing our planet earth with millions of species. It is starting from microorganisms, such as each bacterium to heavy species, such as Blue whale. Our country has a great diversity in its geographical environment. This diversity of environment provides 6.7% (almost 81000 species) of the worlds total species (almost 15 lakh) in its natural habitats. But on the owing to human activities directly or indirectly to obtain different products from sea-bed, forests and wildlife, transformed the nature and wildlife into a resource which put our ‘high value’ natural resources at a constant risk of depletion.

Classification and Distribution of Forest Area:

A. According to the Basis of Administration, forest have been classified into three categories:

1) Reserved forests: It is those forests which comes under the direct supervision of the government. People are  prohibited  to collect timber or grazing of cattle in this area. Almost 53 percentage of the total forest falls in this forest category. Reserve forest present in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra etc. 

2) Protected forests: This types of forests are looked for by the government; and local people are allowed to collect timbers and grazing of cattle without damaging the forest. About 29% of the total forests of India, come under this category; bulk of the forest area of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar and Punjab covered under this type of forest. Sometimes, these type of forests are upgraded to wildlife sanctuaries which may further upgrade to national parks.

3) Unclassified forests: Non-restricted forests are called unclassified forest. Almost 18% of the total forest of the country comes under this category. Unclassified forests are found in the states of North-East Indian region, Gujarat etc.

 B. On the basis of Annual Rainfall Indian forests have been classified into 5 division:

1. Tropical Ever Green Forest:

Climatic condition of this type of forests are warm and humid. Average annual rainfall 200 cm. and annual temperature – above 22°C. These forests appear green all the year. This type of forests are seen in the Western Ghat, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and North East region. Mahogany, Aini, Ebony etc. are the example of tropical evergreen forest.

2. Tropical Deciduous Forests(Monsoon forest):

Climatic condition of these forests are semi humid. Average annual rainfall is 100-200 cm. Trees of these forests are tall with broad leaves. These forest seen in the foothill of Himalaya, Eastern slope of western ghat and Odisha, Madhya Pradesh,  Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka. Tendu, Palas, Bel etc.. are the example of tropical deciduous forests.

3. Thorn forests:

Average annual rainfall of the thorn forests region is less than 50 cm. The plants of these region is leafless most of the year. These types of forests are found in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat. Babool, Ber, Neem, Kokko etc. Trees are the example of thorn forests.

4. Mountain forests:

This type of forests can be found in two different regions:

• Hilly region of Kerala and Tamil Nadu,
• Towards the Eastern Himalayas (88°E longitude) in the hilly area of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Average annual rainfall is 150 to 200 cm and mean temperature is about 12 °C – 15 °C.

5. Swamp forest:

This forests are very dense. It is found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands,  Ganga- Brahmaputra delta, Mahanadi and Godavari basin.  Mangrove trees, palms, bulletwood etc. trees are found in the swamp forests.

• According to forest census 2019, area of India covered by forest trees is 8,07,276 square kilometers, which is 24.56 percent of the total area of India.
• Area wise maximum forest density are found in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha. On the other hand maximum percentage wise forest are found in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur.

There are different categories of existing plants and animal species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN),  we can classify plants and animals as follows:

1) Normal Species: population levels of those Species which are considered to be normal for their survival is called normal species. Example- Cattle, Sal, Pine, Rodents, etc.

2) Endangered Species: Species which are in danger of extinction is called endangered species.  It is difficult  to survive of such species if the negative factors continue to operate that have led to a decline in their population. Examples- Indian rhino, lion tailed macaques, black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, etc.

3) Vulnerable Species:  Population of the Vulnerable Species have declined to levels if the factors responsible for its decline are not checked and it moves into the endangered category in the near future. It happens if the negative factors continue to operate. Example- Asiatic elephant, blue sheep, Gangetic dolphin, etc.

4) Rare Species: Species with small population may move into the endangered or vulnerable category, is called Rare Species. It happens if the negative factors affecting them continue to operate. Example –  wild Asiatic buffalo, the Himalayan brown bear, desert fox and hornbill, etc.

5) Endemic Species: These are species which are only found in some particular isolated areas bin natural or geographical barriers. Example- Gayal in Arunachal Pradesh, the Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig, etc.

6) Extinct Species: The species  where they may occur, are not found after searches, known as Extinct Species.  A species may be extinct from the local area or from the region, continent or the entire earth. Example- pink head duck, the Asiatic cheetah, etc.

Initiatives to Save Forests and Wildlife:

To protect the forests and wildlife resources, Government of India has provided some constitutional & Parliamentarian safeguards. These are:

• Article 51C of the Indian constitution helps to implement the International Environmental Agreements such as Stockholm decorations which held in 1972.
• Article  253 of the Indian constitution gives  power to the Parliament to enact Air Act 1981, and Environment Protection Act, 1986. 
• Article 48-A of the Indian constitution says that the states shall make safeguard and protect forest and wildlife.
• Article 51-A(g) says about the duties of every Indian to protect and promote the natural environment.
• Environmental Protection Act 1986, gives the power to the central to protect the quality of environment, to reduces all pollution related sources.
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972,  provides the protection of birds, wild animals and plants  to ecological and environmental security of the country.
• Wildlife protection act  2013, prohibits any type of selling or purchasing of animals without permission.
• Forest conservation Act 1980 gives the power to the states to control the deforestation rates.

##Almost 5% of the total area of the country are declared as National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, and Biosphere reserve.  There are some species which are extinct such as Asiatic lions, Rhino, Vultures etc. To increase the number of endangered animals government of India has launched some projects such as Tiger project (1972), Rhino project(1981) Snow Leopard project (1988) etc.