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Forest and Wildlife Resources

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67 views

Forest and Wildlife Resources

Uploaded by

aayushi.nhs
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FOREST AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES

(i) What is biodiversity? Why is biodiversity important for human lives?


Biodiversity refers to the variety of life forms found on earth. It is a measure of variation at the ecosystem, species and
genetic level. Biodiversity is abundant in tropical areas. Tropical areas cover 10 per cent of the earth surface, but they host
90% of the world’s species.
Contribution of biodiversity in human lives
1. Agriculture – A variety of plant species meet our needs for food.
2. Its contribution to business and industry
3. Leisurely activities
4. Ecological processes
(ii) How have human activities affected the depletion of flora and fauna? Explain

Answer:

1. Various river valley projects have affected the flora and fauna.
2. Many illegal mining projects have depleted the flora and fauna.
3. Too many development projects for leisure activities in the forests have negatively affected them.
4. Too many human activities in the forest area due to rising population and lack of space has created human-animal
conflict.

Chipko Movement:
The 'Chipko Andolan' originated from an incident in a remote village called 'Reno's in Garhwal, high up in the Himalayas in
the early 1970s. A logging contractor had been allowed to cut down trees in a forest close to a village. The people of the
village did not want that forest to be cut down because it would have spoiled their healthy environment. One day, when
the menfolk of the village were out for work, the contractor's workers came into the forest to cut down trees. In the
absence of men. The women of the village reached the forest quickly and closed the tree trunks with their arms,
preventing the workers from cutting down the trees. The forest trees thus were saved. The 'Chipko Movement 'quickly
spread all the communities and helped in the conservation of forests.

Project Tiger
In 1973, the authorities realised that the tiger population dwindled to 1827 from an estimated 55000 at the turn of the
century.
To counter this situation, Project Tiger was launched in 1973 by the Government of India for conservation of tigers.
The project aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats and also to protect them from
extinction.
The main aim of this project was to limit factors that lead to reduction of tiger habitats.

Write a note on good practices towards conserving forest and wildlife.


During conservation of forests many good practices have been evolved. These include:

 Worshiping of trees and animals.


 Use of flora and fauna in religious functions.
 Formation of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and bio reserves to protect endangered species.
 Punishable penal codes on killing animals.
 Community programs like Vanmahotsav etc. to bring awareness among the people about importance of wildlife.

Why do we need to conserve forests and wildlife?


(i) There has been a rapid decline in wildlife population and forestry.
(ii) Conservation helps to preserve the ecological balance and ecological diversity and our life support systems water, air
and soil.
(iii) Forests and wildlife also provide economic benefits.
(iv) Forest depletion accelerates soil erosion.
(v) Forests act as oxygen cover for our Planet and deforestation would mean depletion of oxygen needed by living
organisms.

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.

JFM: Joint Forest Management

Types and Distribution of Forest and Wildlife Resources


The forests are classified as follows:
(i) Reserved Forests: These are the most vital for the conservation of forest and wildlife and about half of the total forest
land has been placed under this category.
(ii) Protected Forests: Forest Department had declared one-third of the total forest area as protected forest which saves it
from further depletion.
(iii) Unclassed Forests: Both private individuals, government and communities own these lands. They mostly include
forests and wasteland.

List of animals added to the protected list were fresh water crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the Gharial, the Asiatic
lion.

4. What were the impacts of the Chipko Movement?


Ans: The Chipko moment has successful helped in saving the flora but has also brought people together to save the
environment. It also gave rise to many other programs where the community came together to save the natural
resources. Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya has promoted people to stop using synthetic chemicals as
sufficient crop harvest can be produced even without the use of chemical fertilizers. Joint forest management (JFM)
programme involves local people and communities to restore forests. It was first started in Odisha in 1988.

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