Name - Durga Sanjay Dhavale

Roll no- 7

21 March
‘'World Forestry Day”

'World Forestry Day' is celebrated on 21st of March every year. This day is
celebrated around the world to show the importance of forests in our life. World
Forestry Day originated at the 23rd General Assembly of the European
Confederation of Agriculture in 1971.

We gain number of benefits from forests. Forests play a vital role in our society.
The event also venerates the contribution of the forests in our lives. Every year
March 21 is distinguished as World Forestry Day.
Poverty and under-development contribute to the problems faced in the field of
environment in India, Increasing population and various developmental activities
pose a threat to the environment and urgent remedial measures are now required
for restoring the environmental degradation and maintaining ecological balance.

Forests are a renewable source and contribute substantially to economic

development. They play a major role in enhancing the quality of the environment.
The forest cover of the country as per 2007 assessment is 690,899 km2 which is
21.02 per cent of the geographical area of the country. Very dense forest
constitutes 83,510 km2 (2.54%), the moderately dense forest 319,012 km2 (9.71
%) and open forest constitutes 288,377 km2 (8.77%) of the geographical area the
scrub accounts for 41,525 km2 (1.26%).
India is one of the few countries which have had a forest policy since 1894. It was
revised in 1952 and again in 1988. The main plank of the forest policy is
protection, conservation and development of forest. Its aims are: (i) maintenance of
environmental stability through preservation and restoration of ecological balance;
(ii) conservation of natural heritage; (iii) check on soil erosion and denudation in
the catchment area of rivers, lakes and reservoirs; (iv) check on extension of sand
dunes in the desert areas of Rajasthan and along coastal tracts; (v) substantial
increase in forest tree cover through massive afforestation and social forestry
programmes; (vi) steps to meet requirements of fuelwood, fodder, minor forest
produce, and small timber of rural and tribal populations; (vii) increase in
productivity of forests to meet national needs; (viii) encouragement of efficient
utilisation of forest produce and optimum substitution of wood and (ix) steps to
create a massive people’s movement with the involvement of women to achieve
these objectives and minimise the pressure on existing forests.

The forests play an important role in the economy of our country. They yield a
number of major and minor forest products. The major products are timber and
firewood. These are used for industrial and fuel purposes.

Forests provide raw materials for pulp, panel products, match wood and other
wood-based industries. Forests are also a source of a number of minor but
important products like bamboo, canes, grasses, essential oils, medicinal plants,
lac, resins, fatty oils, fats, gum, tanning material, dyes, animal products, etc. Some
of these products are valuable foreign exchange earners.

Forests provide a natural defence against dust-storms, hot winds and erosion. They
are crucial to the maintenance of ecological balance. According to an estimate, we
are consuming four times as much wood as is being regenerated in the forests and
other tree lands every year. Unless this plundering of forests is stopped, India’s
forest wealth would become extinct very soon. Deforestation is posing a threat to
India’s ecological balance. It has already adversely affected India’s climate,
rainfall and soil fertility.

Therefore, the Government of India formulated a National Forest Policy in 1952,

which aimed at maintaining at least one-third of the land in the country under
forest cover with a view to securing ecological balance and environmental
stability. The two basic themes of conservation and development now form the
basic planks of this policy. This policy was revised in 1988.

The subject of forests figures in the Concurrent List in our Constitution. The
Forests (Conservation) Act, 1980, enacted primarily to check indiscriminate
deforestation and diversion of forest lands for non-forestry purposes, was amended
in 1988 to make it more stringent by prescribing punishment for violations. The
Government has also set up a National Forest Fund. Initially its funds will be used
for unemployed youth, ex-servicemen, tribals, etc., for planting trees on useless
lands. The Forest Survey of India was set up in June, 1981. In October, 1982, an
Institute of Forest Management was established at Bhopal.

At the State level, Forest Development Corporations have been established in

different States/Union Territories with the objective of undertaking extensive
plantation of fast growing and economically important tree species and also setting
up of forest industries.

The scheme of “Social Forestry” was introduced during the Sixth Plan period in
selected fuelwood deficit districts for augmenting the fuelwood, fodder and small
timber resources. Recognising the urgent need to halt dangerous trends where
forests have reached a stage of regression very near the irreversible threshold, the
Department is giving a new orientation to the entire gamut of forest-related
activities.Some of the steps which should be taken to protect forests include
afforestation and development of wastelands, reforestation and replantation in
existing forests, forest settlement, restriction on grazing, encouragement for wood
substitutes and supply of other kinds of fuel, elimination of forest contractors,
discouragement of monoculture practices, etc.

The Government of India has launched three schemes for promoting social forestry
in the country. These schemes are: (i) mixed plantation in waste lands and
Panchayats lands, (ii) re-afforestation of degraded forests and rising of shelter
belts, and (iii) rural fuelwood plantations.

Forest cover of each State and UT of the country, Madhya Pradesh has got the
largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Maharashtra and Orissa. In terms of percentage of forest cover with respect to total
geographical area, Mizoram with 91.27% leads the table, followed by
Lakshadweep (82.75%), Nagaland (81.21 %), Andaman & Nicobar Islands
(80.76%), Arunachal Pradesh (80.43%), Manipur (77.40%), Meghalaya (77.23)
and Tripura (76.95%). Arunachal Pradesh has got the largest area of very dense
forest cover and Andhra Pradesh has got the largest area of scrub.
 The national tree plantation festival “Vana Mahotsava” is observed all over
the country every year. World Forestry Day is celebrated on 21st March every
year. A novel proprogramme called “A Tree for Every Child” has also been
introduced in the country for fostering tree consciousness among children.

Even now deforestation has not stopped completely. In fact deforestation has
already turned the majestic coniferous forests of the Himalayas, the deciduous belt
of the Vindhyas and the tropical evergreen canopy of the Western Ghats into
virtual man-made deserts. Deforestation has transformed lush green mountains and
hills into zones prone to landslides. Unless this trend is halted and crash
programmes of afforestation are launched, India’s ecological balance might reach a
point of no return.