NCERT Class 10 Geography Chapter 2: Forest and Wildlife Resources YouTube Lecture Handouts
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NCERT Class 10 Geography Chapter 2: Forest and Wildlife Resources
Chapter 2: Forest & Wildlife Resources
Biodiversity or Biological Diversity
- Immensely rich in wildlife
- Cultivated species
- Diverse in form and function
- Closely integrated in a system by multiple network of interdependencies
- Amongst worldีs richest nation in biodiversity
- India โ 8% of world species
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)
Critically Endangered
- Cheetah
- Pink-headed duck
- Mountain quail
- Forest spotted owlet
- Madhuca insignis (a wild variety of mahua)
- Hubbardia heptaneuron (a species of grass)
India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015
- Majority increase in open forest (9.14% increase) category mainly outside forest areas, followed by Very Dense Forest (2.61% increase)
- Total forest cover in India: 7,01, 673 sq. km (increased of 3775 sq km)
- Total forest cover as percentage of geographical area: 21.34%
- Total tree cover in India: 92,572 sq. km (increased of 1306 sq. km)
- Total tree cover as percentage of geographical area: 2.82%
- State with largest total forest cover: Madhya Pradesh - 77,462 sq. km
- State having highest forest cover as % of its area: Mizoram (88.93%)
- Increase in carbon sink: 103 million tons CO2 equivalent
- Improvement in forest cover in: Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.
- Normal - cattle, sal, pine, rodents
- Endangered - black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, sangai
- Vulnerable - blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin
- Rare - Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox and hornbill
- Endemic - Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig, mithun in Arunachal Pradesh
- Extinct โ Asiatic cheetah worldีs fastest land mammal - Acinonyx jubantus โ extinct in 1952; pink head duck
- Himalayan Yew (Taxus wallachiana) โ HP & Arun. P. โ taxol from barks, needles and roots โ largest selling anticancer drug - threatened
Damage to Forests
- During colonial period or expansion โ enrichment plantation
- Teak monoculture has damaged the natural forest in South India
- Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii) plantations in the Himalayas have replaced the Himalayan oak (Quercius sp.) and Rhododendron forests
- Agricultural expansion (bโw 1950 to 1980 โ 26,200 sq. km. area converted to agricultural area)
- Developmental projects โ 5000 sq. km. cleared for river valley project
- Mining โ Buxa tiger reserve in W. Bengal โ dolomite mining
- Grazing and fuel wood collection
- Marginalizes indigenous population โ Women affected more
- Droughts and deforestation induced floods itีs the poor the hardest
Decline in Biodiversity
- Habitat destruction
- Hunting
- Poaching
- Over-exploitation
- Environmental pollution
- Poisoning
- Forest fires
- Over-population
- Unequal access
- Inequitable consumption of resources and differential sharing of responsibility (Americans consume 40 times more than Somalians)
Conservation of Forest and Wildlife
- Preserves ecological diversity and our life support systems โ water, air and soil.
- Preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals for better growth of species and breeding
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act implemented in 1972 โ protect endangered species โ national parks and sanctuaries
- Specific projects for tiger, Kashmir stag or hangul, one horned rhino, gharial, Asiatic lions
- Full or partial protection to Indian elephant, black buck (chinkara) , great Indian bustard (godawan) & snow leopard
- Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species.
- In 1991, for the first time plants were added to the list with six species.
Project Tiger
Forest Area
- Reserved Forests: More than 50% . Regarded as the most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned. (Permanent Forest Estates)
- Protected Forests: Almost 1โ3rd of total forest area and this is protected from any further depletion. (Permanent Forest Estates)
- Unclassed Forests: These are other forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities.
- MP โ 75% forest as permanent forest estates
- Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, HP, Orissa and Rajasthan โ Protected
- J & K, Andhra Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Maharashtra โ Reserved
- All NE states and parts of Gujarat โ High percent of unclassed forest
Conservation of Forest
- Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan: Villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act.
- 5 villages in Alwar, Rajasthan: 1,200 hectares of forest as the Bhairodev Dakavีsonchuri - own set of rules and regulations which do not allow hunting, and are protecting the wildlife against any outside encroachments
- Chipko โ Himalayas
- Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya โ crop without chemicals
- Joint forest management (JFM) โ 1988 by Orissa โ local community and restoration of degraded forests
- Mundas & Santhal of Chhota Nagpur region worship mahua (Bassia latifolia) and kadamba (Anthocaphalus cadamba) trees
- Tribals of Orissa and Bihar worship tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and mango (Mangifera indica) trees during weddings.
- Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck, (chinkara) , nilgai and peacocks
โ Manishika