1. CHAPTER 9 Environmental Studies, 2e
Forest Resources
CHAPTER 9
Environmental Studies, 2e

2. Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter, the reader should be able to:
Appreciate the conflicts between different aspects of forest conservation like sustainable use, rights and livelihood of the local communities, government policy, and environmental activism
Recall the main conclusions of two major global forest assessments
List the products and services provided by forests
Explain how deforestation occurs and the impact it has on the environment
Establish a connection between forests and climate change

3. Chapter Objectives
Recall the international and national initiatives in forest conservation
Explain the meaning of sustainable forest management
Appreciate the importance and ways of involving local communities in forest conservation
Describe some of the efforts of individuals and groups in conserving trees and forests
List what could be done to save the world’s forests

4. The Story of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Contain some of the finest tropical evergreen forests in the world.
Rich in biodiversity with a variety of known and unknown species of flora and fauna.
Destruction:
Timber extraction started by the British, continued after Independence
Logging led to soil erosion, flow of sediments into ocean, killing of corals
Andaman Trunk Road destroyed forests
Marine species endangered
Livelihoods of tribals affected
Impact of 2004 tsunami

10. World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (WCFSD)
The main conclusions of the 1999 WCFSD Report:
The world’s forests declined from 6.0 billion ha 8000 years ago to about 3.6 billion hectares in 1999
56 countries have lost % of their forests.
Over the last two decades of the 20th century, 15 million ha of forests were lost annually, largely in the tropics.
About 14 million ha of tropical forests have been lost each year since 1980 due to conversion into cropland.
Forest decline threatens the genetic diversity of the world’s plants and animals.
In developing countries alone, some US$ 45 billion per year is lost through poor forest management.
In Europe, forests are declining due to drought, heat, pests, and air pollution.

11. UN FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010
The key findings:
Forests cover 31% of total land area (4 billion hectares)
The rate of deforestation shows signs of decreasing, but is still alarmingly high.
South America and Africa continue to have the largest net loss of forest.
Legally established protected areas cover an estimated 13% of the world’s forests.
Forests store a vast amount of carbon.
12% of the world’s forests are designated for the conservation of biological diversity.

12. UN FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (contd)
30% of the world’s forests are primarily used for production of wood and non-wood forest products.
Around 10 million people are employed in forest management and conservation, but many more are directly dependent on forests for their livelihoods.
Significant progress has been made in developing forest policies, laws and national forest programmes.
There are many good signs and positive trends towards sustainable forest management at the global level.

13. Products and Services Provided by Forests
Industrial wood and fuelwood
Non-wood products such as food, minerals, fibre, honey, and medicinal plants
Ecosystem services like soil generation, soil and water conservation, purification of air and water, nutrient recycling, maintenance of biodiversity, providing habitat for animals, mitigation of climate change, and absorption of carbon.
Other contributions such as employment, recreation, education, scientific study, protection of natural and cultural heritage, aesthetic pleasure, and spiritual solace

14. Destruction of Forests
Commercial logging
Roads made for logging encourage the entry of invasive species, hunters, poachers, tourists, plant collectors, and people in general. This, in turn, leads to further exploitation of the resources
Depletion of forest-based wildlife due to the commercial harvesting and trade of bushmeat (mainly in Africa)
Construction of dams

15. Logging Leads To Deforestation

16. Forest Making Way For Farms

17. Impact of Deforestation
Deforestation exposes soils and shade species to wind, sunlight, evaporation, and erosion. Soil fertility goes down, topsoil is eroded and siltation in dams, rivers, and the coastal zone accelerated. The increased sedimentation harms downstream fisheries.
When the forest disappears, there is no regulation of the flow into rivers. As a result, floods and droughts alternate in the affected areas.
Deforestation, degradation, and fragmentation of forests affect many species and lead to the extinction of some.

18. Impact of Deforestation (contd)
Local and global climate changes can occur.
Deforestation may also lead to global warming by releasing carbon stored in the trees.
Clearing of forests affects the local communities, who lose their sources of food, fuel, construction materials, medicines, and areas for livestock grazing.

19. Forests and Climate Change
Forests both influence and are influenced by climate change.
Forests play an important role in the carbon cycle.
The way we manage forests could significantly affect global warming.
Forests hold more than 50% of the carbon that is stored in vegetation and soil. Hence, deforestation contributes significantly to net emissions of carbon dioxide.
If the predicted global warming occurs, the impact on forests is likely to be dramatic, and long-lasting.
Climate change also causes more forest fires than usual.
International agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change may have a great impact on forest management.

20. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)
Use of the world’s forests in such a way that that they continue to provide resources now without depriving future generations of their needs.
SFM involves the local communities fully in forest management.
National forest programmes now cover close to 75% of the world’s forests.

21. Community involvement in forest conservation in India
Joint Forest Management (JFM): In JFM, the local communities are involved in the planning of the conservation programme. They are allowed controlled access to the forest areas and permitted to harvest the resources in a sustainable manner. In return, they become the guardians of the forest.
Social forestry: This refers to the planting of trees, often with the involvement of local communities, in unused and fallow land, degraded government forest areas, in and around agricultural fields, along railway lines, roadsides, river and canal banks, in village common land, government wasteland and panchayat land.
Sacred groves: The traditional sacred groves of India play an important role in community participation and conservation of biodiversity.

22. Participation of locals in forest conservation

23. Positive Stories Sacred groves Chipko Movement Wangari Maathai
Thimmakka
Julia Butterfly Hill

24. The story of Chipko: The women who saved the trees

25. The story of Wangari Maathai: Nobel Prize for noble work
Wangari Maathai, the first woman in east Africa to get a Ph.D., was a Professor at the Nairobi University in Kenya when she launched the Green Belt Movement (GBM) in Her objective was to empower the people and to show that they can choose to destroy or build the environment.
GBM encouraged poor women to plant millions of trees to combat deforestation and to get in return enough fuelwood

26. The story of Thimmakka: Trees as children
Every year an elderly couple, Thimmakka and Chikkanna. planted 15 to 20 trees, until they had covered the entire stretch of four km. They took care of the trees as if they were their children
Chikkanna died in Since 1995, many honours have come Thimmakka’s way: National Citizen’s Award, Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award, etc.

27. Julia Lorraine Hill (known as Julia "Butterfly" Hill, born February 18, 1974) is an American environmental activist and tax redirection advocate. She is best known for having lived in a 180-foot (55 m)-tall, roughly 1500-year-old California Redwood tree

28. Saving the World’s Forests
Recommendations of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (WCFSD):
Stop the destruction of the earth’s forests.
Use the forest resources to improve life for poor people and forest-dependent communities.
Involve people in decisions about forest use.
Set the price of forests to reflect their full ecological and social values, and stop harmful subsidies to lumber companies.
Apply sustainable forest management approaches.

29. Saving the World’s Forests (contd)
WCFSD Recommendations (contd):
Plan for the use and protection of whole landscapes, not the forest in isolation.
Make better use of knowledge about forests, and greatly expand this information base.
Accelerate research and training so sustainable forest management can become a reality quickly.
Take bold political decisions and develop new civil society institutions to improve governance and accountability regarding forest use.

30. Keywords & Phrases of Chap.9
extractive reserve
Joint Forest Management
old-growth forest
sacred grove
second-growth forest
social forestry
sustainable forest management

31. Key Points of Chap.9 Forests provide invaluable products and services.
Forest cover is depleting rapidly, especially in the tropics, due to many reasons and this will have serious consequences for the environment.
In order to conserve forests, we have to reconcile the diverse, and often conflicting, interests of the environmentalists, government officials, and local communities.
A number of national and international measures have been introduced for sustainable forest management, but implementation has been poor.
Local communities are increasingly being involved in forest conservation.