GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 2 FOREST AND WILDLIFE

QUESTION BANK 3

Nature worship an age-old tribal belief has preserved several virgin forests in a pristine
form called sacred groves.’ Comment on the statement with the help of examples.

Ans. Sacred groves are a form of nature worship practiced by the tribal people of India. Tribes
consider forests as Gods and Goddesses and preserve them in their pristine form. These
patches of forest or parts of large forests have been left untouched by the local people and any
interference with them is banned.

Certain societies revere a particular tree that they have preserved from time immemorial.
The Mundas and the Santhal of the Chota Nagpur region worship mahua and kadamba trees,
and the tribals of Odisha and Bihar worship the tamarind and mango trees during weddings. To
many of us, peepal and banyan trees are considered sacred.

Sacred qualities are often ascribed to springs, mountain peaks, plants, and animals which are
closely protected.

Describe the role of the community in forest and wildlife conservation.

Ans. Role of the community in forest and wildlife conservation:

In some areas of India, local communities are struggling to conserve forests (their habitat) along
with government officials.
In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife
Protection Act.
The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 hectares of
forest as the Bhairodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri’, declaring their own set of rules and regulations which
do not allow hunting and protecting the wildlife against any outside encroachments.
The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas successfully resisted deforestation and showed
that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful.
Farmers and citizen groups like the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya have shown
that diversified crop production without the use of synthetic chemicals is possible and
economically viable.
Joint Forest Management is a program that involves local communities in the management and
restoration of degraded forests.

What is Biodiversity? Why is biodiversity important for human lives?

Ans. Biodiversity is the number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic
region. It refers to the varieties of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the genes they contain,
and the ecosystems they form.
Importance of Biodiversity:

The plants, animals, and micro-organisms re-create the quality of the air we breathe, the water
we drink, and the soil that produces our food without which we cannot survive.

Forests play a key role in the ecological system as these are also the primary producers on
which all other living beings depend.

The forest ecosystems are repositories of some of the country's most valuable forest products,
minerals, and other resources that meet the demands of the rapidly expanding industrial-urban
economy.

What is Sacred Groves?

Ans. They are a form of nature worship practiced by the tribal people of India. Tribes consider
forests as Gods and Goddesses and preserve them in their pristine form. Any human
interference is banned in this Sacred Groves.

Write a short note on Chipko movement and Beej Bachao Andolan.

Answer:
Chipko movement - The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas has not only successfully
resisted deforestation in several areas but has also shown that community afforestation with
indigenous species can be enormously successful.

Beej Bachao Andolan - Farmers and citizens groups like the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri have
shown that adequate levels to diversified crop production without the use of synthetic. chemicals
are possible and economically viable.

Why the tigers should be protected in India ?

Answer:
Tiger is one of the key wildlife species in the faunal wave. In 1973, the authorities realized that
the tiger population had decreased to 1827 from an estimated 55,000. The major threats to tiger
population are numerous, such as poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base
species, growing human population etc. The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in
traditional medicines left the tiger population on the verge of extinction. Hence the tigers should
be protected and conserved in India.

What are the adverse effects on the eco system due to the over utilization of forest
resources ? What are the solutions to this problem ?
Answer:
In earlier days, man's needs were limited. He was dependent on the forests only for few things,
although a lot of things could be obtained from forests.
Forests are now being used to fulfil man's need directly or indirectly. We obtain wood, leaves,
medicines, food, fuel etc. from forests. Due to continuous and over usage of these products, the
balance of the eco system is adversely affected.

The solution to this problem could be to look for alternative ways to fulfil our needs so that the
over utilization of our forest resources could be reduced thereby reducing the adverse effects on
our eco system.

How is the decline of bio diversity related to the loss of cultural diversity of our country?
Answer:
The biological loss is strongly correlated with the loss of cultural diversity

Such losses have increasingly marginalised and impoverished many indigenous communities.
Forest dependent communities are directly depend on various components of the forest and
wildlife for food, drink, medicine, culture, spirituality etc.
In the poor class, women are affected more than men.
In many societies, women bear the major responsibility of collection of fuel, fodder, water and
other basic subsistence needs. This causes serious health problems for women and children
because of the increased hours of work which often has serious social implications.
Therefore forest and wildlife are vital to the quality of life and environment in the subcontinent.
Thus, it can be said that the destruction of biodiversity is correlated to the loss of cultural
diversity

“Women are affected more than men due to losses of flora and fauna." Explain.
Answer:
Women are affected more than men in many societies since they bear the major responsibility
of collection of fuel, fodder, water and other subsistence needs. As these resources are
depleted, the drudgery of women increases and sometimes they have to walk for more than 10
km to collect these resources.

This causes serious health problem for women because of the increased hours of work which
often has serious social implications.

What steps are taken by the government of India for the conservation of forest and
wildlife ?
Answer:
The government has taken the following steps for the conservation of forest and wildlife :
(1) The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972-In the 1960s and 1970s, conservationists
demanded a national wildlife protection programme. The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was
implemented in 1972, with various provisions for protecting habitats. An all India list of protected
species was also published. The thrust of the programme was towards protecting to their
habitats, banning hunting and restricting trade in wildlife.
(2) National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries-The central government also announced several
projects for protecting specific animals. There are 92 National parks and 500 wildlife sanctuaries
all over India. Its total area is 1.57 crore hectare.

(3) Specific Projects for Specific Animals-The central government has also announced several
projects for protecting specific animals which are gravely threatened including tigers, the one-
horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles-fresh water crocodile,
salt water crocodile and the gharial, the asiatic lion and others.

(4) Project Tiger- “Project Tiger” one of the well-publicised wildlife campaigns in the world, was
launched in 1973.

Tiger conservation- Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save an
endangered species, but with equal importance as a means of preserving biotypes of sizeable
magnitude. Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal,
Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan,
Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are some of the tiger
reserves of India.

(5) Wildlife Act 1980 and 1986- In the notification under 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 also added to the list starting with six species.

Analyse the reasons for the depletion of forest resources in India.

Answer:
The reasons for the depletion of forest resources in India are following-
(1) Colonial plantation- The great it damage inflicted on Indian forests was during the colonial
period due to the expansion of railways, agriculture and mining etc

(2) Agricultural expansion- After independence, agricultural expansion continues to be one of

the major causes of depletion. Between 1951 and 1980, according to the forest survey of India,
over 26200 sq km of forest areas were converted into agricultural land all over India.

(3) Shifting Cultivation (Jhum)Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the north-eastern
and central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cult vation (hum), a type of
“slash and burr agriculture.

(4) Development projects- In India large-scale development projects have als contributed
significantly to the loss of forest: Since 1951, over 5,000 sq km of forest wa cleared for river
valley project. Clearing forests is still continuing with project like th Narmada Sagar Project in
Madhya Prades! which would inundate 40,000 hectares of fores

(5) Mining- Mining is another importan factor behind deforestation. It has blocked th migration
route of several species including th Great Indian Elephants, thus disturbing thei natural habitat.
(6) Grazing and fuel wood collection- Over grazing of land also leads to soil erosion
Deforestation is also caused by wood collection

Write about the types and distribution of forests in India.

Answer:
In India, much of its forest and wildlife resources are either owned or managed by the
government through the forest department or other government departments. These are
classified under the following categories-

(1) Reserved Forests- These are the most valuable forests as for as the conservation of forests
and wildlife resources are concerned.

Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests, constituting 75 per cent of total
forest area. Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West
Bengal and Maharashtra have large percentages of reserved forests of its total forest area.

(2) Protected Forest-Almost one-third of the total forest area is protected forest, as declared by
the Forest Department. This forest land are protected from any further depletion. Protected
forests are maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forest produce, and for
protective reasons. Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan have a
bulk of protected forest.

(3) Unclassified Forests In India, there are other forests and wastelands belonging to both
government and private individuals and communities known as unclassified forests. North-
eastern states and part of Gujarat have a very high percentage of their forests as unclassified
forests managed by local communities.

Enumerate the features of Joint Forest Management Programme

Answer:
The following are the features of Joint Forest Management Programme, which came into
existence in 1988.

Formation of local or village institutions, that undertake activities on degraded forest land,
managed by the forest department.
Local communities involved in the management and restoration of degraded forests.
Intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produce and the share in the timber harvested given
to the members of the communities in return.

Write a brief note on ‘Project Tiger’.

Answer:
Project Tiger’ was one of the well-published wildlife campaigns in the world, launched in 1973.
Initially it has shown an increase in tiger population till 1989 but in 1993 the tiger population had
dropped.
There are 27 tiger reserves in India covering an area of 37,761 sq km. Tiger conservation has
been viewed not only as an effort to save an endangered species but with equal importance as
a means of preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude.
Corbett National Park, (Uttarakhand), Sundarbans National Park (West Bengal), Bandhavgarh
National Park (Madhya Pradesh), Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary (Rajasthan), Manas Tiger Reserve
(Assam) and Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala) are some of the tiger reserves in India.