Transcript Forests, Life line of people

RURAL PRODUCTION AND
LIVELIHOOD SYSTEM
Forests: Lifeline Of Millions Of Indian
Awanish Kumar (11)
Sachin Agrawal (53)
Man and his environment are always
interdependent and interrelated to each
other.
Environment is the most talked about, but
the most ill understood subject in our
country.
What is a forest?
• The forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly
of trees that buffer the earth and support a myriad of
life forms.
• Forests are subdivided into plantations and natural
forests.
• Natural forests are forests composed mainly of
indigenous trees not deliberately planted. Plantations
are forest stands established by planting or seeding,
or both, in the process of afforestation or
reforestation.
People and forests
• Forests are home to 300 million people around the
world.
• More than 1.6 billion people depend to varying degrees
on forests for their livelihoods, e.g. fuelwood, medicinal
plants and forest foods.
• About 60 million indigenous people are almost wholly
dependent on forests.
• Some 350 million people who live within or adjacent to
dense forests depend on them to a high degree for
subsistence and income.
• In developing countries, about 1.2 billion people rely on
agroforestry farming systems that help to sustain
agricultural productivity and generate income.
• Mangrove forests, which cover only about 147 000 km²
worldwide, are essential to the life cycles of the majority
of the world’s commercial fish species.
Forests and the Global economy
• Global employment in the formal forestry sector - 13 million
people (2000).
• Gross value-added in the forestry sector: US$354 billion (2000).
• Global trade in wood products: US$150 billion (2003).
• Global roundwood production: 3 342 million cubic meters
(2003).
• Countries with highest contribution of forests to gross domestic
product (GDP): Bhutan, Finland, Malaysia, Baltic States and
some African countries.
• Small-scale forest product enterprises are among the top three
non-farm rural commercial activities in most countries.
Types of Forests
• Forests can be broadly classified into
types such as the taiga (consisting of
pines, spruce, etc.), the mixed
temperate forests (with both coniferous
and deciduous trees), the temperate
forests, the sub tropical forests, the
tropical forests, and the equatorial
rainforests.
TEN COUNTRIES WITH THE LARGEST FOREST
AREA (in million hec)
RUSSIA
BRAZIL
809
CANADA
1320
US
478
77
80
88
134
164 197
310
CHINA
AUSTRALIA
CONGO
INDONESIA
PERU
INDIA
303
OTHERS
In Indian Context
• Six major groups of forest in India are
moist tropical, dry tropical, montane sub
tropical, montane temperate, sub alpine,
and alpine. These are subdivided into
16 major types of forests.
Forest Coverage in India
• India’s forest cover is estimated to be
about 77.8 million hectares,
• or 23.68 percent of the country’s area,
• However, the per capita availability of
forest land in India is one of the lowest in
the world, 0.08 ha, against an average of
0.5 ha for developing countries and 0.64
ha for the world
• Forests formally contribute 1.7 percent to
India’s GDP.
• This area has been classified into Reserved, Protected and
Unclassed forest which constitute 54.44, 29.18 and 16.38 per
cent of the forest area, respectively.
• Reserved Forest An area notified under the provisions of
Indian Forest Act or State Forest Acts having full degree of
protection. In Reserved Forests all activities are prohibited
unless permitted.
• Protected Forest An area notified under the provisions of the
Indian Forest Act or State Forest Acts having limited degree of
protection. In Protected Forest all activities are permitted
unless prohibited .
• Unclassed Forest An area recorded as forest but not included
in reserved or protected forest category. Ownership status of
such forest varies from state to state.
Future
TARGET
• 25% forest coverage till 2007
• 33% forest coverage till 2012
• Investment of 8000 Cr Rs
• Support from private sector
Forest cover map
What are the primary goods and services forests provide?
Goods
Services
Timber — In the early 1990s
industrial wood products
contributed about $400 billion to
the global economy.
Water filtration
Woodfuels — Woodfuels account for
about 15% of primary energy
supply in developing countries, up
to 80% in some Sub-Saharan and
Asian countries.
Carbon storage - Forests store 613938 gigatons of carbon, making
them an important natural defense
against climate change.
Nontimber products — Food and
fodder are the most important
nontimber products to people who
depend on forests as a primary
source of nutrition.
Biodiversity — More than 60% of
known terrestrial plant and animal
species, including thousands of
tree species, live in forests.
Forest as Livelihood
A livelihood comprises the capabilities,
assets (stores, resources, claims and access)
and activities required for a means of living
Forest as Livelihood
• Lifeline for Landless.
• Lifeline for tribal
• Lifeline for rain fed areas
Forest as Livelihood
• Forests provide a range of uncultivated food
sources such as vegetables, roots, tubers,
flowers, fish, birds, red ants
• Forest provide gum, tendu pattas, mahua
flowers, oilseeds too.
• Forests provide herbal and traditional
medicines
• Firewood for cooking and fodder for animal
Tendu Economy
Tendu tree (Diospyros Melanoxylon)
• Leaves plucked from its shrubs are used
to wrap bidi , the poor man's cigarette
• About 550 billion pieces of bidi (rolled by
10 million people) are sold every year in
India
• Bidi industry provides employment to the
rural population during off season for
collection of bidi leaves
Tendu Economy
• Bidi Rolling Is The Primary Job Which Is
Very Simple And Can Be Done At Any
Place At Any Time
• Bidi Industry Has A Vital Role In Rural
Welfare And In Promoting Rural Economy
Siali leaf
• Siali patta is the leaf of a creeper plant,
Scientifically called Bauhinia Vahlii
• It is found in wet Sal forest having high
regeneration capacity
• Found in various parts of India
• Leaves are used in making plates, cups for
taking & packing food & flowers
LAC Cultivation
• The major producers of sticklac and its derivatives
today are India, Thailand and China; the first two are
also the major exporters of lac products and share
almost equally the export market.
• While the scale of the industry has diminished in
India, it remains of socio-economic importance to an
estimated 3 million people, mainly tribal groups
• Over 90% of Indian lac comes from the Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal,
Maharashtra and Orissa.
What Are Non-wood Forest
Products?
• NWFP are products of biological origin other than
wood derived from forests, other wooded land and
trees outside forests.
• NWFP may be gathered from the wild, or produced in
forest plantations, agroforestry schemes and from trees
outside forests.
• Examples of NWFP include products used as food and
food additives (edible nuts, mushrooms, fruits, herbs,
spices and condiments, aromatic plants, game), fibres
(used in construction, furniture, clothing or utensiles),
resins, gums, and plant and animal products used for
medicinal, cosmetic or cultural purposes.
Non-wood Forest Products
• It is estimated that 60 percent of NWFP production is
consumed locally.
• Sale of NWFPs accounts for nearly 50 percent of the total
revenue from the forestry sector in India.
• Collection and utilization of NWFPs account for about 2
million person-years, and nearly 400 million people living
in and around forests depend on NWFPs for their
sustenance and supplemental income.
• NWFPs provide as much as 50 percent of income to about
30 percent of rural people.
Forest Based Industries
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Pulp and paper
Sawmills
Furniture
Match box industry
Cottage industries
Fuel wood
• India is the world’s largest consumer of fuel wood.
• Fuel wood meets about 40 percent of the energy
needs of the country.
• About 70 percent of the fuel wood is used by
households and the rest by commercial and
industrial units.
• Around 80 percent of rural people and 48 percent
of urban people use fuel wood.
Forestry Policy, Institutions And
Major Programmes
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The basic objectives of the National Forest Policy, 1988 are:
Maintenance of environmental stability;
Preservation of the remaining natural forests;
Checking soil erosion and in catchment areas to mitigate floods
and droughts;
A substantial increase in forest cover through afforestation and
social forestry programmes;
Meeting the fuel wood, fodder, NWFP and small timber needs of
the rural population;
Increasing the productivity of forests to meet essential national
needs;
Encouraging efficient utilization of forest products and
maximizing substitution of wood;
Creation of a people’s movement, involving women, for
achieving these objectives.
Role of NGO
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Global Forest Coalition, Netherlands
Meghalaya Environment & Wildlife Society
Foundation of Ecological Security
Srishti, Tarun Bharat Sangh, Orissa
Environmental Society, Rajasthan
Environment Preservation Society,
Kalpavriksh
• Contribute to restoring the well-being and
the integrity of our ‘living environment’
Deforestation And Net Forest Area
Change
• Each year about 13 million hectares of the world’s forests are
lost due to deforestation, but the rate of net forest loss is
slowing down, thanks to new planting and natural expansion
of existing forests.
• From 1990 to 2000, the net forest loss was 8.9 million hectares
per year.
• From 2000 to 2005, the net forest loss was 7.3 million hectares
per year - an area the size of Sierra Leone or Panama and
equivalent to 200 km2 per day.
• Primary forests are lost or modified at a rate of 6 million
hectares per year through deforestation or selective logging.
• Plantation forests are established at a rate of 2.8 million
hectares per year.
Forests, Food And Health
• As food supplements, forest foods provide certain proteins,
fat, vitamins and minerals that are not found in many staple
crops, and may even stave off hunger and famine when
drought, floods or pests and diseases cause crops to fail.
• Bush meat or edible wild mammals, reptiles, birds and
insects which live in forests or trees can account for up to
85 percent of the protein intake of people living in or near
forests.
• Some 80 percent of the people living in developing
countries depend on non-wood forest products, such as
fruits and herbs, for their primary health and nutritional
needs.
• Natural products are the only source of medicine for 75 to
90 percent of people living in developing countries.
Forests And The Environment
• Forests ensure environmental functions such as
biodiversity, water and soil conservation, water supply and
climate regulation.
• Deforestation accounts for up to 20 percent of the global
greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global
warming.
• In arid environments, forests are crucial to food security in
dry seasons and years.
• Forests provide habitats to about two-thirds of all species
on earth.
• Deforestation of closed tropical rainforests could account
for the loss of as many as 100 species a day.
• Source: World Bank 2004
JFM
• India is a leader in community forestry and
participatory resource management.
• The government adopted the mechanism of Joint
Forest Management (JFM) in 1990.
• Its objective is to regenerate and develop degraded
forests for environmental needs and to provide
fuelwood, fodder, NWFPs and timber to local people
living in and around forests.
• JFM has since been institutionalized by most states,
although effective implementation of the approach at
the field level has taken root in only a few states.
Forests And Fire
• FIRE HAS BEEN A MAJOR INFLUENCE on the
development and management of many of the world’s
forests.
• Every year millions of hectares of the world’s forests are
consumed by fire, which results in enormous economic
losses because of destroyed timber, burnt housing,
degraded real estate, high costs of fire suppression, damage
to environmental, recreational and amenity values and loss
of human and animal life.
Forests And Fire
• Most wildfires in forests and woodlands today are caused
by humans as a result of the misuse of fire for conversion
of forests to agricultural lands, maintenance of grazing
lands, extraction of non-wood forest products, hunting, and
clearing of land for mining, industrial development or
resettlement.
• Forest fires may also result from personal or ownership
conflicts.
Illegal Forest Activities:
• Reduce the income of local communities from legal and
improved forest management and thereby give rise to
further illegal activity.
• Create a cycle of bad governance, where corrupt politicians,
government officials, and private individuals support bad
governance in order to maintain their profits.
• Contribute to extensive deforestation and the destruction of
biological diversity.
• Increase the risk of forest fires and distort forest product
markets.
Your valuable Suggestions invited
Thank you.