FOREST DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION IN INDIA

FOREST DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION IN INDIA India has been unable to properly and suitably exploit its forest resources. The reasons for this are many, mainly and specifically overgrazing; indiscriminate felling of trees, depletion of forests through fires; vast areas of unclassed forests awaiting rehabilitation; manner of utilising forest products for fuel and charcoal; lack of proper transport and paths through the forest land; ignoring the commercial value of forests; the reliance upon natural growth rather than planting of trees; lack of information on forest resources and inadequate research facilities.
Realising the importance of forests in economic and environmental well-being of the country, the Government of India has, evolved a well defined forest policy. It has been taking important steps for the preservation and upgradation of forests. Some of the steps are as follows:

The 1952 Forest Policy It fixed a target of 100 million hectares or 33 per cent tree cover for the country. This has still not been achieved. Its main failure was to put on an equal footing the people's need for minor forest produce, industry's demand for raw materials and the state's de­mand for revenue.

Establishment of the Forest Survey of India Estab­lished in June 1981, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is entrusted with the responsibility of survey of forest re­sources in the country. The FSI has four zonal offices located at Bangalore, Kolkata, Nagpur and Shimla with headquarters at Dehradun.

The 1988 Forest Policy The policy of 1952 was revised in 1988. The main objectives of the revised forest policy of 1988 are: (i) preservation of ecological balance and conservation of natural heritage; (ii) to control erosion of soil, denudation in catchment areas and extension of sand dunes in the north-west desert region and along the coasts; (Hi) to provide rural and tribal people their requirement of forest products; (iv) utilising products of forestry in the best manner possible; (v) increasing the productivity of forests as well as the forest cover by afforestation programmes among others; and (vi) involving the people to meet the objectives. Also, in 1988, the Forests (Conservation) Act of 1980, to prevent deforestation and use of forest land for non-forestry purposes, was amended. Punishments in case of violations were included. To prevent destruction of forest area by fires, a Modern Forests Fire Control Project was started in 1984 with the assistance of the UNDP.