Forest Resources
Intended
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this session, students will be able to
• Explain Forest Resources
• Discuss the use and over-exploitation Forest Resources
• Describe Deforestation
• Explain the effect of Timber extraction, mining, dams on
forests and tribal people
Contents
• Introduction to Forest Resources
• Use and over-exploitation Forest Resources
• Deforestation
• Timber extraction, mining, dams and their effects on
forests and tribal people
Forest
Resources
Use and
overexploitation
• Scientists estimate that India had 33% of its land under
forests (today we have only about 12%)
• Not only to protect existing forests but also to increase
our forest cover
• People who live in or near forests know the value of forest
resources
• Water we use depends on the existence of forests on the
watersheds around river valleys
• Our homes, furniture and paper are made from wood from the
forest
• We use many medicines that are based on forest produce
• We depend on the O2 that plants give out and removal of
CO2 breathe
• Forests once extended over large tracts of our country
• As agriculture spread the forests were left in patches
which were controlled mostly by tribal people
• They hunted animals and gathered plants and lived entirely
on forest resources
• Deforestation
became a major
concern in British
times when a
large amount of timber was extracted for building their ships
• Alienated local people by creating Reserved and Protected
Forests, which curtailed access to the resources
• Another period of over utilisation and forest degradation
occurred in the early period following independence as people felt that now
that the British had gone they had a right to using our forests in any way we
pleased
• Timber extraction continued to remain the Forest
Department’s main concern up to the 1970s
• Forest degradation and deforestation was creating a
serious loss of the important functions of the forest began to override its
utilisation as a source of revenue from timber
Deforestation
• Where civilizations have looked after forests by using
forest resources cautiously, they have prospered, where forests were destroyed,
the people were gradually impoverished
• Today logging and
mining are serious
causes of loss
of forests in our
country and all over the world
• Dams built for hydroelectric power or irrigation have
submerged forests and have displaced tribal people whose lives are closely knit
to the forest
• One of India’s serious environmental problems is forest
degradation due to timber extraction and our dependence on fuel wood
• A large number of poor rural people are still highly
dependent on wood to cook their meals and heat their homes
• We have not been able to plant enough trees to support the
need for timber and fuel wood
• National Forest Policy of 1988 was started
• Another resolution in 1990 provided a formal structure for
community participation though the formation of Village Forest Committees
• Based on these experiences, new guidelines were issued in
2000
• This stipulates that at least 25% income from the area
must go to the
• From the initiation of the program, until 2002, there were
63,618 JFM Committees managing over 140,953 sq. km of forest under JFM in 27
States in India
• Timber extraction, mining and dams are invariably parts of
the needs of a developing country
• If timber is overharvested the ecological functions of the
forest are lost
• Unfortunately forests are located in areas where there are
rich mineral resources
• Forests also
cover the steep
embankments of river
valleys, which are
• Thus there is a constant conflict of interests between the
conservation interests of environmental scientists and the Mining and
Irrigation Departments
• What needs to be understood is that long-term ecological
gains cannot be sacrificed for short-term economic gains that unfortunately
lead to deforestation
• These forests where development projects are planned can
displace thousands of tribal people who lose their homes when these plans are
executed
• This leads to high levels of suffering for which there is
rarely a satisfactory
FOREST FUNCTIONS
Watershed protection:
• Reduce the rate of surface run-off of water
• Prevent flash floods and soil erosion
• Produces prolonged gradual run-off and thus prevent
effects of drought
Atmospheric
regulation:
• Absorption of solar heat during evapo-transpiration
• Maintaining carbon dioxide levels for plant growth
Erosion control:
• Holding soil (by preventing rain from directly washing
soil away)
Land bank:
• Maintenance of soil nutrients and structure
Local use
• Consumption of forest produce by local people who collect
it for subsistence – (Consumptive use)
• Food – gathering plants, fishing, hunting from the forest
• Fodder – for cattle
• Fuel wood and charcoal for cooking, heating
• Poles – building homes especially in rural and wilderness
areas
• Timber – household articles and construction
• Fiber – weaving of baskets, ropes, nets, string, etc
• Sericulture – for silk
• Apiculture – bees for honey, forest bees also pollinate
crops
•Medicinal plants – traditionally used medicines,
investigating them as potential source for new modern drugs
Market use –
(Productive use)
• Most of the above products used for consumptive purposes
are also sold as a source of income for supporting the livelihoods of forest
dwelling people
• Minor forest produce (non-wood products): Fuel wood, fruit
fiber, etc
• Major timber extraction for construction, industrial uses,
paper pulp, etc.
• Timber extraction is done in India by the Forest
Department, but illegal logging continues in many of the forests of India and
the world
Summary
• Scientists estimate that India had 33% of its land under
forests (today we have only about 12%)
• Deforestation became a major concern in British times when
a large amount of timber was extracted for building their ships
• Today logging and mining are serious causes of loss of
forests in our country and all over the world
• National Forest Policy of 1988 was started
• Timber extraction, mining and dams are invariably parts of
the needs of a developing country