Importance of Forests
Forests have been important in the life of man since time immemorial. But as the civilization progressed, man started cutting trees to fulfill his needs. There was continuous deforestation and it also had a great impact on the environment.
Forests are boon to us in many ways. We derive lots of direct and indirect benefits from forests. Today we will know about the direct and indirect benefits of forests.
Direct benefits of forests
Some of the benefits which are obtained directly from the forests are mentioned below :
Source of Food
The primitive man lived in the forests and was entirely dependent on them for food. He used to eat tuber-root, wild fruits, etc. available in the forests to fill his stomach. Even today many primitive castes are dependent on forests for their food.
Receipt of Wood
Wood is the biggest produce of forests and an important fuel. We get more than 4000 types of wood every year from forests in which there are more than 500 valuable woods such as - sal, teak, rosewood, pine, deodar, sandalwood etc. We get teak, sal, rosewood, pine, deodar, ebony and sandalwood from the forests. Furniture, wooden artefacts, toys and even houses are made from wood.
Fodder for Livestock
The forest area is an excellent pasture site. In many forests, grass grows over a wide area which serves as fodder for grazing animals. Many animals make their living by eating grass and leaves obtained from the forests.
Assistant to Small Scale Industries
Forests have proved to be very helpful in small scale industries. Due to the forests, small scale industries of various types have increased today.
Receipt of Foreign Exchange
Foreign exchange is earned by exporting lac, turpentine oil, sandalwood oil and wooden artefacts obtained from forests.
Raw Material for Industries
Forests provide raw material for various industries. Industries such as paper, catechu, match, lacquer, rubber, silk, plywood, bidi, sports goods etc. depend on forests for raw material.
Medicinal Herbs
Many types of medicinal herbs are obtained from the forests and different types of medicines are made from them.
Source of Fuel
Wood obtained from forests is the biggest source of fuel. In ancient times, mankind was completely dependent on wood for fuel. Although there are many alternative fuel options available today such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity, wood is still an important resource.
Means of livelihood for people
Forests provide livelihood to innumerable persons. Many people get their livelihood by cutting and selling wood obtained from forests. Apart from that the forest-based industries like paper,plywood, etc. provides employment to crores of people throughout the world. About 35 lakh persons in India earn their livelihood from forests.
Receipt of Silk
Silk is obtained from the eggs of silkworms living on mulberry leaves. The scientific name of silkworm is Bombyx mori.
Government Income
The government receives billions of rupees in the form of annual income from it. In 1951-52, the government got an income of approx. Rs 15.22 crore from forests which increased to Rs 250 crore in 2000-01. Apart from this, forest products of more than hundred crores are exported every year.
Indirect benefits of forests
Apart from the appropriate direct benefits, there are also direct benefits of forests which are as follows:
Control of soil erosion
The roots of trees hold the soil firmly in place. Therefore, whenever it rains, the soil remains in its place. Thus forests play an important role in preventing soil erosion. Nowadays, forests are planted in different regions of the country to prevent erosion.
Assistant in the rain
Forest trees attract clouds which increases the chances of rain. In forested areas, the evaporation from the leaves occurs continuously due to which the temperature remains relatively low. Therefore, when moist air passes over the leaves, condensation occurs which leads to the formation of clouds and rain.
Increases soil fertility
In forests, the leaves fallen from the trees starts decaying after some time and gets mixed in the soil. This process of rotting or decaying is known as decomposition. Due to the rotting of the leaves of the trees, the amount of humus in the soil increases which increases the fertility of the soil.
Control of the spread of desert
Forests prevent the spread of desert because the roots of trees hold the sand particles together and do not allow the sand to move forward. Thus, the process of desertification is reduced to a large extent. In Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, large-scale installations are being made to prevent desertification.
Helpful in Flood Control
Forest trees control flash floods and tsunamis. Trees reduce the velocity of floods which ultimately avoids economic losses due to floods. Due to the cutting of forests in different regions of the country, the outbreak of floods has increased.
Maintains environmental balance
The most important role of forests is to maintain the balance of the environment. Forests do not allow the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) to increase in the atmosphere by absorbing it. They also provide constant oxygen (O2) which is very vital to sustain human life. Thus, a constant balance of both CO2 and O2 is maintained by the forests in the atmosphere.
Forests are found on nearly 24 percent of the total area in India. Out of this, the area under good forests is even less. For the balanced development of the country, forests should be found on about one-third of the country. Due to the rapid growth of population and livestock, the forest wealth has declined rapidly. But now conservation and development of forests has become necessary for which best methods need to be discovered and adopted. Along with this, the area of forests should be expanded by planting fast growing trees.
National Forest Policy of India
For the management of Indian forests, the first National Forest Policy was formulated in the year 1884, in which concrete arrangements were made for the protection of forests and the creation of reserved and protected forests.
The second National Forest Policy was declared in 1952. There was a provision in this that 33.3% of the land area should be under forest.
Forest Conservation Act, 1980
The Forest Conservation Act was enacted in 1980 to prevent indiscriminate use of forest land. Under this Act, prior permission of the Central Government shall be necessary for any reserved forest to be declared as a reserve or to use forest land for non-forest purposes.
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