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 worldีšs richest nation in biodiversity
  • India โ€“ 8% of world species
Illustration: Biodiversity or Biological Diversity
Illustration: Biodiversity or Biological Diversity

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)

Illustration: 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.
Illustration: India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015
Illustration: India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015
Illustration: India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015
  • 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 worldีšs 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 (bโŸ‹w 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 itีšs 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

Illustration: Project Tiger
Illustration: 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 1โŸ‹3rd 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 Dakavีšsonchuri - 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

โœ Manishika