Forestry: Definition, Branches, Costs, Programme and Conclusion | Geography

In this article we will discuss about forestry. Learn about:- 1. Definition of Forestry 2. Branches of Forestry 3. Rotation Recognized in Forestry 4. Costs 5. Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Forestry 6. Forestry in Five Year Plans 7. Central Board of Forestry 8. National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP) 9. Ways to Overcome Forestry Problems 10. Recommendation of the National Commission 11. Conclusion.

Definition of Forestry:

Forestry is the art and science of managing forests so as to yield, on a continuous basis, a maximum in quality and quantity of forest products and services. In broad sense, it is for the handling of forest land to satisfy the needs of man. It includes the logging, manufacturing, marketing and use of wood products. Forests can be managed for single or multiple purposes, to include protection of watersheds, production of timber, wildlife conservation, regulation of stream flow, recreation, erosion control and general aesthetics.

Forest ecosystems have come to be seen as the most important component of the biosphere and forestry has emerged as a vital field of science, natural resource management, applied art and technology. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement socio-environmental systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable continuation of environmental supplies and services. The challenge of forestry is to create systems that are socially accepted while sustaining the resource and any other resources that might be affected.

Branches of Forestry:

i. Agroforestry:

It is the integration of forests into agricultural systems in order to optimize the production and positive effects within the system and minimize negative side effects of farming.

ii. Dendrology:

It involves the study and identification of economically useful tree species.

iii. Forest Ecology:

It studies the patterns and processes of a forest ecosystem.

iv. Forest Economics:

It studies the impact of economics on forest management decisions.

v. Forest Hydrology:

It embodies the effects of changes in forest land use on the movement, distribution, and quality of water in the ecosystem.

vi. Forest Management:

It comprises the overall administrative, economic, legal and social aspects of forest regulation.

vii. Forest Mensuration:

It incorporates quantitative measurements of the forest stand to determine stand timber volume and productivity/health and provides a basis of which management decisions can be made.

viii. Forest Protection:

It comprises both the biotic and abiotic maladies affecting the health of the forest or tree, primarily by fungal pathogens, insects, nematodes, parasitic plants and climatic factors (stress, salinity, fire, etc.) and their management.

ix. Silviculture:

It is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forests to meet specific objectives.

x. Tree Breeding:

It is the method of genetically modifying/selecting forest stock for improved growth or vigour characteristics.

xi. Urban Forestry:

It entails the care and management of urban tree populations for the purpose of improving the urban environment.

xii. Social Forestry:

It addresses human-forest interactions and the importance of community based natural resource management.

xiii. Farm Forestry:

The practice of cultivating and managing trees in compact blocks on agricultural lands.

xiv. Community Forestry:

Combination of forest conservation with rural development and poverty reduction objectives, accomplished through instating a legal framework that favours profitable and sustainable forest management.

xv. Eco-Forestry or Environmental Forestry:

It emphasizes tree planting practices which strive to protect and restore ecosystems.

xvi. Energy Forestry:

It includes specifically managing forests for the production of energy from biomass or bio-fuel derived from a fast-growing species of tree or woody shrub.

xvii. Short Rotation Forestry:

Managing a forest that utilizes fast-growing species as a bio-based energy crop for domestic use and commercial use in power stations, alone or in combination with other fuels such as coal.

xviii. Analog Forestry:

A management focus that seeks to establish a tree-dominated ecosystem that is similar in architectural structure and ecological function to the naturally occurring climax and sub-climax vegetation community.

xix. Boreal Forestry:

It analyzes the particular challenges of forestry in the world’s boreal regions.

Rotation Recognized in Forestry:

The period which a forest crop takes between its formation and final felling is known as rotation or production period. Generally, rotation is expressed as an average age practice for harvesting to start a new crop.

This term is also defined in various other ways by different authors and some of these definitions are given below:

i. The planned number of years between the formation or regeneration of a crop and its final felling. In the case of a selection forest, the average age at which a tree is considered mature for felling (Forest Glossary).

ii. The number of years fixed by the working plan between the formation or regeneration and the final felling of a crop (Brasnett).

iii. Rotation age is the age of trees or crops at which they are felled and object of management for the time being are best served (Knuchel).

iv. Rotation or production period is the interval of time between the formation of a young crop by seeding, planting or other means and its final harvesting (Osmaston).

v. Rotation is the period which elapses between the formation of a wood and the time when it is finally cut over (Jerram).

Types of Rotation:

Rotation is an important factor in the regulation of yield and proper management of the forest as a whole. As stated earlier, it will depend mainly on the objects of management.

Various types of rotation recognized in forestry are as follows:

1. Physical Rotation:

It is the rotation which coincides with the natural lease of life of a species on a given site. The natural life-span of trees varies greatly with species and the site factors. This rotation is applicable only in case of protection and amenity forests, park lands and in some cases roadside avenues.

It is very variable, fairly long and also indefinite. Another interpretation of physical rotation is the age up to which the trees remain sound, or produce viable seed in high forests and, in coppice crops, can put forth reliable coppice shoots. This rotation is not of any relevance to economic forestry.

2. Silvicultural Rotation:

It is the rotation through which a species retains satisfactory vigour of growth and reproduction on a given site. It can neither be lower than the age at which trees start producing fertile seed in sufficient quantity, nor beyond the age when they stop doing so. It is also necessary that soil conditions remain satisfactory for germination and establishment of seed. It is not only long but has also very wide range of limits, hence somewhat vague and may be used in combination with other rotations, such as Technical rotation.

3. Technical Rotation:

It is the rotation under which a species yields the maximum material of a specified size or suitability for economic conversion or for special use. It aims at producing the maximum material of specific dimension for specific purpose, such as railway sleepers, saw-logs, mine-props, transmission poles, match-wood, paper-wood etc. Since one and the same tree may yield different assortments of material and the trees in a crop may attain given size at different times, the technical exploitable age offers no reliable fixed point for fixing the rotation.

It does, however, allow for fixation of limits within which a tree or stand is adopted for the production of assortments in greater number or better quality. Technical rotation is adopted particularly by industrial firms which own forests for the purpose of supplying raw material for their plants (e.g., NEPA and West-coast paper mills, WIMCO match factory, ITC, etc.).

4. Rotation of Maximum Volume Production:

It is the rotation that yields the maximum annual quantity of material i.e. the age at which the Mean Annual Increment (M.A.I.) culminates. The M.A.I, refers to that of the stand and not that of individual trees. More often than not, the objective in forestry is quality or value production and rotation for higher value production is usually longer than for highest volume production. In turn, maximum volume rotation is usually longer than financial rotation. Common practice in forestry is to adopt a combination of rotation of maximum volume production and financial rotation.

5. Rotation of Highest Income:

It is the rotation which yields the highest average annual gross or net revenue irrespective of the capital value of the forest. It is calculated without interest and irrespective of the times when the items of income or expenditure occur. This rotation is important from the overall national point of view.

With forestry in the public sector, attainment of highest gross revenue is more important than that of net income because larger expenditure and investment generates several social benefits and indirect advantages to the trade and industry. The private owner of a forest estate is interested in maximum net revenue by keeping the rotation period as short as possible.

The average net annual revenue or rental obtained from a stand of trees is expressed by the formula:

where,

Yr = Value of final felling per unit area.

Tr = Value of all thinning during rotation period ‘R’ per unit area.

C = Cost of formation of stand per unit area.

E = Annual cost of administration per unit area.

R = Rotation (years)

The two rotations will be about the same unless there is an appreciable increase in price for larger-sized timber which is, in fact, usual. If the size gradient is marked, then the rotation of highest net income will be comparatively longer. Again, if there is a special size of timber which fetches a particularly high price, the rotation which provides that price may be the rotation of highest income and possibly coincides with technical rotation.

6. Financial Rotation:

It is the rotation which yields the highest net return on the invested capital. It differs from the rotation of highest net income in that all items of revenue and expenditure are calculated with compound interest at an assumed rate, usually the rate at which the Govt., is able to borrow money.

It is also defined as:

i. The rotation which gives the highest discounted profit, usually at its commencement

ii. The rotation which is most profitable (Hiley)

iii. The rotation which gives the highest net return on capital value i.e. under which the soil expectation value calculated with a given rate of interest is the maximum (Brasnett)

Rotation ages of some important plantation species are as follows:

Teak – 60- 120 yrs

Eucalypts, Poplars and Casuarinas – 4 – 8 yrs

Acacias – 8 – 12 yrs

Prosopis – 4 – 8 yrs

Length of Rotation:

The choice of the type of rotation will depend on the object of management, but the length of rotation of whatever type, will depend on the interaction of several physical and economic factors given below:

i. Rate of Growth:

This will vary with species, site fertility, intensity of thinning, etc.

ii. Silvicultural Characteristics of the Species:

For example, natural span of life, age of fertile seed production, age at which rate of growth culminates, age at which the quality of its timber is most desirable or begins to fall, etc.

iii. Response of the Soil:

Deterioration / exhaustion of soil by exposure, biotic influence etc.

iv. Economic Considerations:

Depending on a combination of factors of cost, prices of different sizes, time required to reach those sizes, etc. A factor tending to lengthen the rotation is the increase in value of large-sized timber, though not economically sound to grow large-sized timber over a long rotation.

v. Social Conditions:

Socio-economic and employment policy of the State.

Costs on Forestry:

In most valuation studies, while the benefits from forestry have been well documented, the costs incurred on its cultivation, maintenance, restoration, depreciation and other miscellaneous costs to obtain the timber, non-timber forest products, eco-tourism and other benefits are often not accounted for.

Here, opportunity costs are also ignored. Restoration costs are incurred for reproducing the original level of benefits. Certain expenditures are required to prevent degradation of the forests. Further, input costs are incurred on plantation, extraction cost, marketing expenses for forestry products, especially log wood and other NTFPs.

Direct expenditure on afforestation includes land preparation, pitting, planting, watering, fencing, trenching, apart from purchase of seedlings, fertilizers, after care cost, etc. Apart from the direct costs, there are certain indirect costs that are required to be incurred in order to reap the larger benefits associated with forests.

Some of these costs would include infrastructure cost for promoting eco-tourism, markets for timber and NTFPs, etc. It is, however, important to note that most of these are in the nature of joint costs and attributing these costs exclusively to forestry activities could be misleading.

Most of the investment/expenditure in forests is undertaken by public agencies. Hence it is also important to look at the opportunity cost of land under forests or proposed for afforestation. This would require estimation of opportunity cost of alternative uses of the land such as grazing, agriculture, horticulture, habitation, industry, etc. The opportunity cost would reflect all economic outputs foregone or precluded by maintaining land under forest cover.

Maintenance of existing natural forests would imply prospective benefits foregone from agriculture or other alternative uses of land. Thus, opportunity cost of sustainable forest management is the amount that could be earned from forest exploitation and various forms of land utilization. In case of converting wasteland under the afforestation programmes, the opportunity cost could be in terms of restricted availability of grazing and pasture land, etc.

Opportunity cost of benefits from forest would also indicate the shadow price of benefits arising from watershed catchment protection and soil conservation, nutrient cycling, maintenance of soil fertility amongst others. The other issue relates to social costs that are associated with existence of forests on the local people.

Such social costs could take the form of damage to resilience of forest eco-system, natural resource depletion, pollution on account of forest fires, etc. Another widespread cost results from crop damage caused to local farmers by animals and birds dwelling in nearby forests.

Application of Remote Sensing and GIS in Forestry:

The forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that have formed a buffer for the earth to protect life forms. The trees which make up the main area of the forest create a special environment which, in turn, affects the kinds of animals and plants that can exist in the forest. In the tropical and subtropical region, forests are further subdivided into plantations and natural forests. Natural forests are forests composed of indigenous trees, not deliberately planted.

Plantations are forests established by planting or/and seeding in the process of afforestation or reforestation. There are about 16 major types of forests in India from the tropical type to the dry type. India has the total forest cover of 21.05 per cent (69.20 million ha) and tree cover of 2.76 per cent (9.08 million ha) respectively (FSI 2011). It has the recorded forest area of 76.95 million ha classified as reserved forest, protected forest and unclassed forest (FSI 2011).

Efficient and sustainable management of India’s forests therefore, is critical, given the significance of biomass to rural communities. Materially, forests provide fuel and fodder, food, materials for construction, and agricultural implements, but crucially, forests also provide income-generating opportunities, supplying materials that can be employed in cottage industries such as bamboo, leaves, lac, honey, herbs and fruits etc. for direct sale. Using remote sensing, foresters can get more accurate and cost-effective information and can directly observe as large an area as necessary.

Due to the versatility and scale of remote sensing, it is invaluable in all stages of forest management. The forester’s task begins with growing healthy forests. Remote sensing is a useful tool for assessment of environmental conditions, either in an existing forest or prior to planting a new one. Effective management of forest requires detailed local information on the status of forest. However, the traditional method of ground based surveys to obtain such detailed inventory data is currently expensive, time consuming and difficult to put into practice.

Remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) analyses have great potential for providing relatively cheap data to assist in the efficient management of forests. The Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is now being used extensively for field inventory. GPS in conjunction with remote sensing and GIS have been used by Forest survey of India, for implementation of suitable sampling design to carry out forest inventory in inaccessible areas.

Forestry in Five Year Plans:

Although every five year plans had specified objectives and programmes, the main activity under most of them was tree planting.

The emphasis of the different FYPs regarding forestry was as follows:

i. First and Second FYPs- Rehabilitation of degraded forests, introduction of economic species, survey and demarcation;

ii. Third and Fourth FYPs- Increasing productivity of forests through fast growing species plantation, scientific assessments and modern logging;

iii. Fifth FYP- Large scale plantation, social forestry and forest conservation;

iv. Sixth FYP- Social forestry and fuel-wood reserves to save natural forests;

v. Seventh FYP- Forest conservation, massive afforestation and wasteland development;

vi. Eight and Ninth FYP- Preservation of biological and genetic diversity (both flora and fauna), protection of forest against biotic interference, utilization of wastelands, and promotion of people’s participation through Joint Forest Management (JFM).

vii. Tenth FYP- Forest conservation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development.

The percentage share of Forestry Sector Outlay has always been low from 0.37 per cent of the total outlay in First FYP (1951-1956) to 0.27 per cent in Eleventh FYP (2007-2012). The highest allocation was in the Seventh FYP (1.03%). For the sustainable development of the sector, allocation to the forestry sector should be raised to about 4 to 5 per cent of the total outlay of the country.

Central Board of Forestry:

A Central Board of Forestry was constituted in 1950 to provide guidance to the govern­ment in the formulation of policy and programs. Central Board of Forestry (CBF) was reconstituted in the year 2006 with Hon’ble Prime Minister as Chairman and Union Minister of Environment & Forests as Vice-Chairman of the Board to guide the forestry sector.

The Duties and Responsibilities of the CBF:

The Board will advise the central and state/UT Governments on all matters concerning Forest conservation and Mana­gement as well as related matters. The Board will have special concern and focus on: Forest Policy, Biodiversity, Legislation, Inter-State matters, Inter-Ministerial matters, Identification of broad areas of R&D, Training and Education, Indian Forest Service, Appointment of Committees and Sub-Committees/ working Groups. CBF will meet at least once a year. Standing Committees will monitor the implementation of recommendation of CBF. Each state/UT is given an opportunity to present the policy issues pertaining to their area in CBF.

National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP):

Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has formulated the National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP) and released it on 9 August 1999. It is a comprehensive work plan for sustainable development of forests in India in next twenty years as well as to achieve the national goal of 33 per cent geographic area of the country under the forest and tree cover as enshrined in the National Forest Policy, 1988.

This exercise has been undertaken as a part of the programme recommended by the United Nations Conference for Environment and Development (UNCED) and its subsequent forum, the Commission on Sustainable Develo­pment (CSD) and Intergovernmental Panel on Forestry (IPF) for the launch of National Forest Programmes globally. The exercise has been financially supported by the UNDP.

The objective of NFAP is to enhance the contribution of forestry and tree resources to ecological stability and people cantered development through qualitative and quantitative improvements in the forest resources. It is to integrate the forestry development programmes in the country within the framework of national Five Year Plans (FYP).

In order to have an integrated programme with the coordination of all states, the State Forest Departments were assigned to the task of preparation of State Forestry Action Programmes (SFAPs). NFAP has been formulated by integrating and amalgamating 26 State Forestry Action Programmes. Five inter-related basic issues have also been identified and these are the basis of the NFAP structure.

(i) Protect existing forest resources

(ii) Improve forest productivity

(iii) Reduce total demand

(iv) Strengthen policy and institutional frame work

(v) Expand forest area

Top Priorities in NFAP:

i. For sustainability of forests, productivity of forest plantations to be increased at least 3 to 5 cubic meter per ha per year by promoting regeneration and enrichment of plantations.

ii. Hygiene of forests to be improved through suitable silvicultural practices.

iii. Efforts to be made to bring one-third geographic area of the country under forest and tree cover by plantations on all categories of Wastelands and Agroforestry.

iv. Protected area network to be expanded and managed for Bio-Diversity conservation.

v. Plantation on non-forest wastelands to be done mostly with fuel-wood species, as 70% of the wood produce from forests are used as fuel-wood. Species of pulpwood and other industrial wood may be encouraged in farm forestry.

vi. Institution for the people’s participation in protection and development of degraded and fringe forests to be strengthened.

vii. NWEP species to be developed and value addition may be promoted at the village level.

viii. Grazing in forests to be regulated as per carrying capacity and silvicultural needs.

ix. Infrastructure for forest inventory, research and development to be strengthened. HRD should also be improved.

x. Investment for the sustainable development of forests should be rational and in proportion to the total production.

Ways to Overcome Forestry Problems:

1. Afforestation:

Nowadays forests felled for timber are almost always replanted with seedling trees. In Germany, for instance, every tree cut must, by law, be replaced by a new tree. This has the dual advantage of ensuring timber supplies and protecting the soil. At the same time, many areas which have not been pre­viously covered with forest, or which, though cleared for agriculture for many centuries, are only marginal crop or pasture lands, have been planted with trees.

In Britain for instance, the area under forest has doubled since 1919 due to plantings. In some countries such as Finland, the importance of forestry is such that the government actually gives incentives to farm­ers who turn over their arable land to forest.

Much planting has also taken place in the U.S.A., especially in formerly eroded or impoverished areas such as the Tennessee Valley. In the southern continents, espec­ially in Australia and New Zealand, which had little natural forest in many regions, quick-growing conifer­ous trees have been planted to boost timber supplies.

The new trees may or may not be the same as those removed. For instance, the shorter growing period, and the greater usefulness of conifers for the pulp and paper industry, encourages the planting of such trees in areas which were previously covered with temperate or tropical hardwoods.

The non-replacement of some species is often outweighed by the economic advan­tages of planting a quick-growing species or one which will have a greater range of uses. Valuable trees from other parts of the world, which are not native to a particular area, can also be used advantageously. Thus a number of coniferous varieties has been established in Australia, while Australian eucalyptus trees are grown in the drier parts of the U.S.A., notably in Cali­fornia.

Many areas which did not previously support forest have been planted in order to halt soil erosion or for other reasons. Parts of the Prairies, formerly grasslands, have been planted under the Soil Bank policy. Trees are often planted on sand-dunes, especially near the coast, to halt dune-movement.

The Landes of south-western France is a sandy, inhospitable region, where forestry has not only stabilized the sand but greatly improved the economy of the area, which is now a major producer of ‘naval stores’ such as tur­pentine. Trees have also been planted in many wind­swept grassland areas as wind-breaks.

Many areas, long cleared for agriculture, could profitably be replanted with forest, for in such areas as moorlands, rough pastures and mountain-sides, for­estry may well represent a more economical use of land than the traditional pastoral economy.

This is the case in many parts of upland Britain such as North Wales or the Scottish highlands, and in parts of France, e.g. the Massif Central. In many parts of Italy, where the hillsides have been impoverished and eroded as a result of overgrazing, afforestation would not only provide an income from timber but also help to re­habilitate the land.

2. Improved Cutting Practices:

Forests stand a better chance of regeneration and survival if cutting is selective, that is if only mature trees, or weak or diseased trees which are wasting space, are removed. This ensures that enough trees are left to prevent erosion, and that the species can regenerate. Selective cutting in this sense is very different from the type of selection by which all the trees of a valuable species are removed and the forest is degraded.

Unfortunately selective cutting, properly practised, has a number of disadvantages, which means it is often not economic. The larger trees may crush or uproot smaller ones when they are felled, thus preventing the young trees from reaching maturity. At the same time, the cutting of only a few trees makes extraction difficult, because logs have to be moved through a mass of younger saplings and smaller trees.

The alternative to selective cutting is clear-cutting, by which all the trees are removed of whatever age or type. This may be initially wasteful, but, if the area is then planted with seedlings, erosion can be minimized. When the new trees have matured the area can again be clear-cut because all the trees will be of the same age and roughly the same size.

Clear-cutting has great attractions from an economic point of view because it is cheaper and easier to operate. Thus in the long term clear-cutting is probably the best method for many areas. In some areas, e.g. in southern U.S.A., Sweden, Finland, where forests are scientifically managed, trees are farmed on a long-term rotation system which ensures a sustained yield of timber.

Each year a certain area can be cut and replanted, and then left for about seventy years while the new trees mature. Many large pulp-milling companies, which own their own extensive forests, practise such a system because they can ensure a steady flow of timber at a rate suited to the capacity of the mill. They can plant whatever timber is best suited to their end-products, and can be sure that the timber they use is of a uniform standard.

Clear-cutting, if not properly organized, however, may lead to soil erosion, especially on steep slopes, but this can be overcome by cutting in strips parallel with the contours, or, in areas liable to wind erosion, in strips aligned transverse to the prevailing wind.

3. Forest Protection:

Both natural and planted forests must be protected from natural hazards such as fires and pests. The best protection against fires is a close system of lookout towers and air patrols, such as that maintained in the U.S.A. and Canada, to give the earliest possible warning of fire outbreaks so that fires can be rapidly checked.

Research is also going on into the causes of fires and the climatic conditions in which they are most likely to occur, in order, if pos­sible, to prevent them. Many are due to human care­lessness, and as the forests are used more and more as recreation areas in Europe and North America, better systems of public education in fire prevention and control will have to be devised. When fires break out, they are fought not only from the ground by conven­tional means, but also by spraying from the air with selected chemicals.

Insects and diseases must also be fought by regular inspection of forests, spraying with insecticides and protective measures to prevent the spread of pests. Aerial spraying may be effective, but control by bio­logical methods may be more efficient, as indeed it may be in agriculture also. This involves finding an insect or animal which preys on the unwanted insect, and introducing it into the forest to keep down the pest.

Care must be taken, however, to prevent the newly-introduced insects from themselves becoming a pest by multiplying too fast. Such animals as rabbits or goats, sheep, and other domestic animals which gnaw down seedlings and prevent regeneration of the forests, should also be kept out of forest lands. This is a major problem in India, where many forests, though now managed by the state, are still subject to the grazing rights of local villagers, who bring their cattle or goats into the forests to the detriment of the trees.

4. Reduction of Wastage:

Another way in which timber shortages and forest conservation can be tackled is by the reduction of wastage at industrial plants, rather than in the forests themselves. Great improvements have been made in this field, such as the use of pulp which is not suitable for paper to make fibre- and particle- board for the building industry.

Many large integrated plants make a whole range of pulp and paper products, from the various different grades of pulp, instead of demanding only the best pulp derived from the most valuable trees.

Another way in which timber consumption can be reduced is by the greater re-use of waste paper in the production of newsprint and other inferior paper prod­ucts. This is already a well-established practice in some countries, notably in the U.S.A., but much paper is wasted elsewhere. The greater use of plastics, rather than paper and cardboard, for packaging purposes, would also ease the pressure on forests.

Another way in which wastage could be reduced is by using trees more intensively. For instance hemlock, now used almost exclusively as timber could also be used to extract tannin from the bark. Similarly quebracho, used to extract tannin, could be much more widely used as a source of hardwood. Another source of timber that is little used for industrial pur­poses is old rubber trees which have outlived their productive life.

Recommendation of the National Commission on Forestry Development:

The National Commission on Labour has suggested that:

(i) Forests must have an adequate share of land and deforestation should not be permitted without the approval of the State Government.

(ii) All forests under management of other departments of the Government, should be transferred forthwith to the Forest Department.

(iii) Private forests should also be regulated and controlled.

(iv) Bearing in mind the future demand on the forests, all forest lands should be functionally classified into protection forests; production forests; and social forests.

“Protective influence of the forests, specially on hill slopes, watershed of rivers, sea forests and other localities, vulnerable to erosion and degradation, should be developed by suitably managing existing forests and providing for their rehabilitation and improvement.”

“Production forests must be managed to meet the needs of the existing and projected industries and for well-established uses. Growing of plantation crops in suitable localities on forest lands should be undertaken.”

“The social function of forests should meet these needs of the community for agricultural timber and fuel-wood; grazing and grass; and recreation.”

(v) Steps should be taken to provide employment to local people specially the socially backwards, unemployed and under employed agricultural labourer.

(vi) The National Forest Policy should be reviewed to take into account the above and also other related needs, like controlled grazing, regulation of shifting cultivation, welfare of tribals, protection of wild life and plants, forest research and education, extension and publicity, legislation on forestry and strengthening of forest administration at all levels.

Conclusion to Forestry:

Forest area is very disproportionately distributed in the country and even this is not fully exploited. This necessitates the increasing of forest area in the country and more intensive development of areas which are lacking in forest wealth, it is essential that a sustained increase in production should be secured from year to year through intensive development schemes such as the selection of high yield areas, planting of quick growing species, introduction of improved logging and processing techniques, development of communications and the linking of forest development with specific schemes of industrial development.

To meet the acute shortage of industrial woods, intensification of production, development of forest areas in the hills, improved utilisation of low grade timbers, economy in fuel wood consumption and systematic surveys of forest resources in relation to industries should be undertaken in right earnest. Forest should also be reorganised with the deliberate object of establishing and developing of highly profitable industries in the country. Neglect of forest resources will mean poor standard of living, poverty and backwardness of our industries, and India cannot afford to neglect this green gold.