Forest And Wildlife Resources: 10 Geography

Question: With reference to the type and distribution of forests, answer the following questions:
(1) How are they classified?
(2) Which type of forests are regarded most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned?

Answer:

1. (a) Reserved forests
   (b) Protected forests
   (c) Unclassed forests.
2. Reserved forests.

Question: Define the following:
(i) Reserved forests
(ii) Protected forests
(iii) Unclassed forests
Or
How many types of forests are classified in India? Explain.

Answer:

1. Reserved forests: These are forests which are permanently earmarked either to the production of timber or other forest produce and in which right of grazing and cultivation is seldom allowed.
2. Protected forests: These are forests in which the right of grazing and cultivation are allowed subject to a few minor restrictions.
3. Unclassed forests: These consist largely of inaccessible forests or unoccupied wastes.

Question: (1) What was the Chipko Movement?
(2) What is JFM? What is its objective?
(3) Name the state which took initiative for the Joint Forest Management.

Answer:

1. (i) The movement was launched in the Himalayas against deforestation.
   (ii) The movement has also shown the community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful.
   (iii) The movement has highlighted the role of local communities in forest conversations.
2. It is Joint Forest Management. It is programme which involves local communities in the management and restoration of degraded forests.
3. Odisha.

Question: (1) Name any two states which have the largest area under permanent forests (ii) Name any four states which have a large area under reserved forests.
(2) Name any four states which have the large area under unclassed forests.

Answer:

1. (i) Madhya Pradesh
   (ii) Jharkhand
2. (i) Jammu and Kashmir
   (ii) Andhra Pradesh
   (iii) Uttarakhand
   (iv) Kerala
3. (i) Gujarat
   (ii) Manipur
   (iii) Assam
   (iv) Sikkim

Question: “India has rich flora and fauna”. Explain.

Answer:

1. India is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of its vast array of biological diversity.
2. It has nearly 8% of the total number of species in the world. (1.6 million approximately.)
3. Of the estimated 47,000 plant species, about 15,000 flowering species are indigenous to India.

Question: Mining is one of the major important factors responsible for deforestation. Explain.

Answer:

1. Mining operation needs big machines, labour, roads, railways etc. All these lead to deforestation.
2. The Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal is seriously threatened due to mining operations. The mining operations have caused severe ecological damage to the Reserve and region around.
3. The mining activities have blocked the migration route of several species, including the great Indian elephants, thus, disturbing their natural habitat.

Question: What are the main objectives of JFM?

Answer:

1. Under the Joint Forest Management programme, local communities are involved in the management and restoration of degraded forests.
2. The major purpose of the JFM is to protect the forests from encroachments, grazing, theft and fire and also to improve the forests in accordance with an approved Joint Forest Management plan.
3. In return, the members of these communities are entitled to intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produces.

Question: Highlight any three differences between endangered species and extinct species.

Answer: Endangered Species:

1. These are species which are in danger of extinction.
2. The survival of such species is difficult if the negative factors that have led to decline in their population continue to operate.
3. Black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, lion tailed macaque etc. are example of endangered species.

Extinct Species:

1. These are species which are not found after searches of known or likely areas where they may occur.
2. A species may be extinct from a local areas, region, country, continent or the entire earth.
3. Asiatic cheetah, pink head duck are examples of extinct species.

Question: What has been the contribution of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act in protecting habitats in India? Explain.

Answer:

1. An all-India list of protected species was published. The thrust of the programme was towards protecting the remaining population of certain endangered species by banning hunting, giving legal protection to their habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife.
2. The central government also announced several projects for protecting specific animals, which were greatly threatened, including the tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or Hangul, three types of crocodiles—fresh water crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the Gharial, the Asiatic lion, and others.
3. Many national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and bio-reserves were established to protect and conserve the wildlife.

Question: How does biological loss of forest and wildlife correlate with loss of cultural diversity?

Answer:

1. Biological loss of forest and wildlife has increasingly marginalized and impoverished many indigenous and other forest dependent communities, who directly depend on various components of the forest and wildlife for food, drink, medicine, culture, spirituality etc.
2. The indirect impact of degradation such as severe drought or deforestation-induced floods etc. also hits the poor the hardest. Poverty in these cases is a direct outcome of environmental destruction.
3. Due to biological loss of forest and wildlife many tribal communities have disappeared.

Question: “Nature-worship is an old age belief”. Explain how has it helped in the conservation of forests and wildlife.

Answer:

1. Nature-worship is an age old tribal belief based on the premise that all creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves (the forests of God and Goddesses}. These patches of forest or parts,of large forests have been left untouched by the local people and any interference with them is banned.
2. The Mundas and the Santhal of Chota Nagpur region worship mahua (Bassia latifolia) and kadamba (Anthocaphalus cadamba) trees, and the tribal of Odisha and Bihar worship the tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and mango (Mangifera indica) trees during weddings.
3. Peepal and banyan trees are also considered sacred and worshiped in most parts of India.
4. Sacred qualities are often ascribed to springs, mountain peaks, plants and animals which are closely protected.
5. In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck, (chinkara), nilgai and peacocks can be seen as an integral part of the community and nobody harms them.