| CONTENTS : |
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Regulatory Issues in the Conservation and Management of Mangrove Ecosystem click to go.. |
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Environmental Ups & Downs click to go.. |
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Economic Valuation of Research and Development Institutions : A Case Study of Forest Research Institute |
Wasteland Development Through Agroforestry click to go.. |
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Teak in Madhya Pradesh click to go.. |
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Global Climate Change and Role of Forests as Carbon Sinks click to go.. |
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Suggested Readings click to go.. |
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VIEWPOINT : The `Other Side' of Climate Change click to go.. |
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MILESTONE : Kareem's Thirty-two Acres Water Sponge click to go.. |
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EDITORIAL |
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The tragedy still continues in the form of abandoned Union Carbide factory which has a stockpile of chemicals like aldicarb, carbaryl, chemical waste tar, hydrochloric acid, mercury, phosgene, etc. The chemicals contaminate the local water and soil. For example, the five worst affected residential areas showed food, soil, water and breast milk contamination with heavy metals (nickel, chromium, mercury, and lead), volatile organic compounds (dichlorobenzene) and halo-organics (dichloromethane). Under trade secrecy, Union Carbide has not divulged the composition of chemicals released. So, it is not easy to decide the course and nature of long-term treatment. Therefore, a new ailment known as Bhopal Gas Disease has been identified by the Indian Council of Medical Research. It is defined as `a condition of ill-health, due to exposure to Bhopal's toxic gases'. It has forty symptoms ranging from low backache to breathing difficulties. Rehabilitation of affected people is practically an unattended task and only 450 victims have been rehabilitated. What lessons have we really learnt? The human face of tragedy must be the first priority _ health, rehabilitation, compensation, etc. But, environmental and medical aspects should get equal attention as they will enrich human scientific knowledge as well as skill to tackle such incidents effectively in future. Our inaction should not blur the tragedy. Editors |
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Regulatory Issues
Regulatory issues pertain to variety of problems, which have cropped up in mangrove forests. These issues call for adoption of appropriate management practices immediately to conserve the unique ecosystem (Anonymous, 1989).
Indiscriminate Tree Felling and Lopping Indiscriminate tree felling and lopping of mangroves mainly for the firewood, fodder and timber result in the degradation of mangroves (Fig.1).
Fig. 1. Indiscriminate felling of mangroves. It was observed in Goa that local people lopped mainly Avicennia officinalis and A. marina which grew quite big in size among the mangrove trees. Tree felling and lopping were mostly seen in the areas close to human habitation. In Middle Andaman, lopping of Bruguiera parviflora for fodder and felling of B. gymnorrhiza for getting poles were noticed. Table 1 gives information on mangrove related offence cases booked in Middle Andaman in different years. Indiscriminate and over-exploitation of mangroves has resulted in resource depletion and posed serious threats to the ecology and environment of mangrove bearing coastal areas (Untawale, 1984, 1987).
Untawale (1996) reported over-exploitation and deforestation of mangroves for
fuel wood and fodder in Goa. Qureshi (1996) reported lopping of mangroves in
Pakistan for fuel wood and fodder. Naskar and Mandal (1999) reported that wood
cutting and poaching of firewood had increased day by day in Sundarbans to meet
the needs of local rural and urban people.
Illegal mangrove tree fellings have also been reported from abroad. In Vietnam, demand for mangrove timber, poles and firewood is far larger than the supply. People come to forests and use subtle tricks such as sawing the trees at ebb tide, with other relatives guarding outside to warn of danger and transporting the timber away in midnight. Sometimes, the trees are tied to the sides of the boat and thrown into the river, if discovered (Cuong, 1994). | ||
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Indiscriminate Conversion Indiscriminate conversion of mangroves bearing areas for aquaculture, agriculture, human habitation and industrial purposes have wiped out mangroves from many industrial purposes have wiped out mangroves from many areas. There are examples in Goa where mangrove bearing areas were converted to other uses. Some mangrove areas have already been converted for prawn culture at Chorao (Goa). Recently, Fisheries Department of Goa government has sought permission of the Forest Department to further clear the mangroves for development of aquaculture at Chorao. Along the Mapusa estuary (Goa), mining related activities have adversely affected the mangroves. At Goa, several bunds were noticed in different parts of the state which were constructed to reclaim the mangrove areas. Conversion of mangrove areas for agriculture, brackish water fisheries, prawn and shrimp farm, salt pans, development of ports and harbours, tourist spots, cities had several adverse affects on the natural regeneration process (Clough, 1982). Interference with the free flow of tidal water and of fresh water from the landward side may alter the character or destroy the normal vegetation of the mangrove swamp. In Port Blair, reclamation by means of embankments has rendered large areas unfit for the growth of mangroves and marshy blanks have resulted (Sahni, 1957). The total wetland area which has been converted for other uses is about 40 m ha in India, as compared with 10 m ha in Indonesia and about 2 m ha in Malaysia (Untawale, 1992). During the last two centuries more than 50 percent mangrove areas in the Indian part of the Sundarbans have been reclaimed and converted to agricultural fields, brackish-water fisheries and rural habitations (Naskar, 1985). Mangrove areas of the undivided Sundarbans have been reduced by more than 50 percent during the last two centuries (Chanda, 1977). Several reports on indiscriminate conversion of mangrove areas have come from various part of the world. Mencer and Hamilton (1984) reported that during the last two centuries, vast areas of the mangrove forests of the world had been reclaimed to shrimp farms and brackish water fisheries in the South-East Asian countries. Shrimp and crab rearing is tremendously profitable when compared with forestry business (Hong, 1996) and the fact lures the people to convert mangrove areas. In Peninsular Malaya (Malaysia), about 10,500 ha mangrove lands have been converted during 1955 to 1980 for agricultural purposes (Razani, 1982). Several hectares of these mangrove cleared lands also remain fallow or idle due to acid sulphate in these soils (Ong, 1982). Similarly, in Sarawak, about 4,000 ha mangrove lands have been reclaimed for agriculture from 1933 to 1982 (Chai, 1982). In Peninsular Malaya alone, 500 ha mangrove areas have been cleared for aquaculture. Besides these agricultural and aquacultural utilisation of mangrove areas in Malaysia, the rapid growing urbanisation, mining, over- exploitation, cross bund construction on rivers, have caused large-scale deforestation or mortality of mangroves like other world mangals (Chan, 1988).
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Industrial Pollutants When industrial pollutants are discharged into the rivers without giving proper treatment, they adversely affect the mangroves and hinder its natural regeneration (Clough, 1982). This problem is not severe in Goa and Middle Andaman, but in some regions of the world, it is one of the major problems. In Karachi and its vicinity, there is pollution resulting from the steady growth of this major industrial city of over a million people. Apart from untreated domestic sewage which flows into the rivers, streams and creeks, there are significant industrial discharges from major industries such as steel mills, refineries, power stations, tanneries and textile mills. Tanneries perhaps represent the main source of pollution, since the waste has a high metal content which is less easy to control (IUCN, 1987a).
Encroachments The entire mangrove areas have not been surveyed from the point of view of ownership. It is believed that people might have encroached upon the Government's mangrove forest lands. At some places in Goa, local people were seen cultivating paddy on government land along the banks of the estuaries after uprooting the natural and planted seedlings. In Vietnam, some households, living far from the forestry station, steadily encroach and destroy mangroves for building aquaculture ponds (Hong, 1996). Ownership of land A considerable mangrove area in Goa belongs to communidabe (Village Community) and private people. As ownership of this land is not with the government, it is relatively difficult to conserve and develop the mangroves over such lands if the owners of these lands do not extend co-operation. Qureshi (1957) emphasised the need to transfer all mangrove forests under control of Forest Department for scientific management.
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Traditional Method of Fishing In the traditional method of fishing in Goa and Middle Andaman, dragnets are used along the rivers where young mangrove seedlings may be there. At the time of dragging the net, young seedlings get entangled in the nets and are uprooted. Thus, this method of fishing hampers regeneration of mangroves. Large-scale shrimp/prawn seed collection cause tremendous detrimental effect on the aquatic environment of the mangroves of Sunderbans (Naskar and Mandal, 1999). Fishermen, women and their children usually gather edible molluscs and catch fish in the plantation area. These activities are also a threat to the seedlings (Hong, 1996).
Movement of Barges Barges are used in Goa for carrying iron ore. While sailing through the estuaries, barge movement gives rise to strong waves, which sometimes damage the young mangrove seedlings. Rhizophora seedlings are broken by the boats passing through the plantation (Hong, 1996).
Wildlife Rarely, wildlife was also seen destroying and damaging mangroves in Middle Andaman to little extent. Deer were seen damaging the young plants of Avicennia by eating its foliage. Population of spotted deer and barking deer is substantial in Middle Andaman as evident by day to day field observations. There are no carnivorous like tiger, leopard, etc. who feed on deer but deer poaching is common in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In Vietnam, after the Vietnam War, the number of wild boar increased rapidly. Their habitat and food source was large clumps of Phoenix paludosa and Acrostichum aureum. In 1989, when the burnt Phoenix was replaced by planted Rhizophora mucronata, wild boars destroyed the newly planted species by digging up the propagules. After four months, 58 percent of experimental planting of Rhizophora mucronata on high land was destroyed (Nam, 1994). There is no threat to mangroves from the wild boars in Middle Andaman. Wild boars are hunted by Jarwa tribe, which is their favourite food but deer are not eaten by them as they worship deer as pious animal. In Vietnam, troops of long tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) gathered in newly planted areas to search for crabs and molluscs, trampled and damaged the Rhizophora mucronata seedlings (Hong, 1996). Monkeys are not found in Middle Andaman. Wildlife is not a serious threat to mangroves in Goa and Middle Andaman.
Cattle Pressure In many areas, cattle mainly goats,
buffaloes and cows were seen browsing the leaves of some mangrove species. They
also trampled the young mangrove seedlings. This problem was more severe in the
areas close to human habitation where owners of the domestic cattle let them
free for grazing. Grazing / browsing in mangrove of Central West Coast of
India have been reported by Untawale (1996).
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Natural Stress Mangroves are also subject to stress from cyclones, typhoon and strong wave action (Naskar and Mandal, 1999). Mangroves of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are prone to damage by these natural agencies because of its geographical location.
Wood Borers In some mangrove areas like Chorao in Goa, wood-borer attack on plants was noticed which ultimately resulted in the death of the plants. Several insects (caterpillars) and molluscs wood-borers eat away the mangrove foliage and damage the wood as well (Naskar and Mandal, 1999).
Infestation by Barnacles, Oysters, Crabs and Gastropods Barnacles are small cones shaped shellfish that attaches itself to object under water. Barnacles, in Goa, were seen attacking newly planted propagules. Barnacles attachment to young seedlings interferes with respiration and photosynthesis so delaying seedlings growth (Hong, 1996). Damages to the young leaves and plumules of Rhizophora and Ceriops by the Oysters were noticed in Middle Andaman. Due to oyster attack, large areas of Kandelia candel planted in the central and north coast of Vietnam have become bushes with lot of branches (Hong, 1994). Crabs attack on mangroves was not noticed in Goa but in Middle Andaman, it is a serious problem. Crabs generally attack young seedlings and girdle the root collars. Crabs also eat the fleshy tissues of the propagules. During the course of experiments in mangrove nursery in Middle Andaman, crabs were seen eating seeds of Sonneratia and young leaves of Avicennia seedlings. Sesarma crab attacks propagules and saplings of Rhizophora and Ceriops. The damage is inflicted on young seedlings by nibbling into the young propagules until they are completely girdled or even bitten through. Attacks occur just above or below the mud surface (Chan, 1994). Gastropods are also a big problem in Middle Andaman. They were seen eating young leaves and flowers of mangroves. Eating of leaf surface and young propagules by gastropods have been reported by Untawale (1996).
Marine Algae Presence of marine algae hampers establishment and growth of young mangrove seedlings, however, it is not a serious problem in Goa and Middle Andaman. In dry season, marine algae such as Sargassum, syzigium and some other Rhodophyta species are washed ashore. Mangrove plantations at Can Gio in particular and along the coast line of Vietnam in general have suffered a high mortality or retarded growth due to these algae. They choke the seedlings to death or cling to the hypocotyl, giving additional weight, which results in bending or breakage of the stem of the seedlings (Cabahug et al., 1986)
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Pests The larvae of Parasa species (Limacodidae- Lepidoptera) is a common pest on Rhizophora. It is a leaf-eating caterpillar, which damage the foliage very badly (Fig. 2).
Fig .2. Pest attack on Rhizophora.
In Middle Andaman, large numbers of buds were noticed in the genus Sonneratia but hardly 1 percent of them bloomed into flowers (personal observation). Fig. 3 shows flowers and buds in Sonneratia alba. This was probably due to some pest attack. Propagules of Rhizophora are often attacked by Poecilips fallax (Scolytidae- Coleoptera) which are rarely inundated by tide (Agaloos, 1994). The pest appears at the beginning of the dry season (Nov. _ Feb.) in mangrove areas. Therefore, if propagules are collected during this time, the death rate of the seedlings will be high. In the 1980s when Rhizophora apiculata was transported in great amounts from Minh Hai Province to Can Gio, which take many days by boat, these beetle (Poecilips fallax) destroyed a large number of propagules (Hong, 1994). From December to April, in a pure population of Avicennia, P. fallax caused epidemic defoliation and new leaves formed in the next rainy season.(Hong, 1996)
Fig . 3. Flowers and buds in Sonneratia alba
At some places in Can Gio, Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata and Ceriops tagal were planted and the growth of the seedlings was inhibited by competition from Acrostichum aureum and Phoenix paludosa for living space and light (Nam, 1994). Deforested mangrove areas are usually occupied by Acrostichum aureum, which is difficult to eradicate subsequently. Sometimes the dense growth of Acrostichum aureum and Acanthus species act like pest and do not allow the regrowth of the economic mangrove tree species, in the mangrove felled areas (Teas, 1979).
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Grass Cutting seedlings from the strong wave action and help in the establishment of the young seedlings. But, unfortunately at the time of cutting and removing the grass, young mangrove seedlings are also damaged.
Mortality of mangrove Trees Although unusual mortality of mangroves was not noticed in Goa but mortality of big patches of mangroves were noticed at Baludera near Baratang (Middle Andaman Island). At Shoal Bay No. 18 (South Andaman Forest Division), Bruguiera trees in approximately 1 ha area have become dry. At Tarmugli Island, Avicennia trees in about 50 ha area have dried. Obstruction and diversion of water flow at Shyamkund, (Middle Andaman) for culvert construction, resulted in death of mangroves in about 0.5 ha area (personal observation). Diversion of estuary/ creek flow is very common in Sundarbans, which makes the waterways in unwanted situation for the tidal flow (Naskar and Mandal, 1999). The climax species in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, is Heritiera fomes, which constitutes almost 73% of the growing stock (Das and Siddiqi, 1985). Large-scale mortality of Heritiera fomes has been reported in mangroves of Bangladesh, which may be due to inadequate supply of upstream freshwater and for the age of the plants (Naskar and Mandal, 1999). | ||
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Root Causes of the
Problems Involving
Regulatory Issues
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It is always advisable to examine root causes of the problems so as to adapt appropriate strategies to eliminate or minimise those factors itself, which give birth to the problems. This will minimise the incidences of re-occurrence of the problems. It has been rightly said that prevention is better than cure. Following are the root causes of the various problems as learnt during the field study in Goa and Middle Andaman:
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Action Points to Overcome Problems Involving
Regulatory Issues
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Mangrove conservation and development efforts taken by the Government of India, Government of Goa and Andaman-Nicobar Administration so far have been successful up to a significant extent. The efforts have definitely reduced the degree of problems but problems are still there. There is a scope for further improvement in the situation by eliminating or minimizing the problems. Following action points may be helpful in the conservation and management of mangroves:
Patrolling At present, Forest Departments in states/union territories do not have sufficient staff and infra-structural facilities like motor boats, communication network etc to take up patrolling work effectively. Procurement of speedboats, wireless sets and posting of additional staff may improve the situation. Strengthening of intelligence network may further facilitate management by providing information about the offenders. Severe punishment to the offenders under the law may act as deterrent for the others. Regular patrolling in the creeks is necessary to check possible destruction of mangrove habitat (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 1997). In Vietnam, the facilities, means of transportation and communication system of the guard of the forest network are poor (Hong, 1996). During the course of study in Middle Andaman, illegal collection of fruits of Xylocarpus granatum, X. moluecensis, Nypa fruticans, and Heritiera littoralis was noticed. Local agents engage the people for illegal collection of mangrove fruits. These fruits are ultimately exported to mainland through the main agents at Port Blair. Probably, these mangrove fruits are used for making some medicine. Indiscriminate collection of mangrove fruits on large scale hampers their natural regeneration. Vigil in the field, jetties and harbours during the fruiting period may control the illegal collection of mangrove fruits. Information gathered on fruiting periods can help us in planning out strategy for safeguarding mangroves (personal observations and experience).
Legislative Needs Drag net fishing has done great harm to
young mangrove seedlings. Ban on fishing by using dragnets, in the areas having
seedlings of less than five years of age, is the need of the hour. Govt. of Goa
has already banned felling of 15 species of mangroves for a period of 10 years
under Goa, Daman and Diu Preservation of Tree Act, 1984 (Notification No. 8/ 10/
83- FOR dated 11.09.90.). This protection is desirable for all the mangrove
species but the need for total ban on mangrove felling/ lopping may be
periodically reviewed. For Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a suitable enactment is
necessary to stop felling of mangroves in Revenue and Private areas (Anonymous,
1997). Speed limit for the barges may be prescribed in the areas having young
mangrove seedlings so that these seedlings are least damaged by wave action.
Strict implementation of anti-pollution laws may put a control on the industrial
and other wastes being discharged into the creeks, estuaries and rivers. There
should be
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As a result of mangrove conservation as well as reforestation programme along the central West Coast of India, the following impacts have been observed: Public awareness regarding importance of mangroves has increased, intertidal mudbanks and their establishment have been controlled, new avenues for forestry and social forestry activities have opened, biomass along the estuaries has increased, which has resulted in additional organic matter which has further influenced the biological productivity, bird and other animal life has increased (Untawale, 1996).
Awareness Programme People's awareness regarding importance of mangroves is most essential for getting their willing support for effective conservation and management of mangroves. Awareness can be spared through film shows; exhibition; newspapers; magazines; distribution of posters, stickers and brochures; display of banners, organisation of seminars, nature camps, bird watching etc (Anonymous, 1997). `Mangrove Conservation Day' may also be celebrated to spread the awareness. On this day essay competition, debate, drawing competition etc. may be organised. School teachers may also be requested to conduct study tours in the mangrove forests to spread awareness among students. Establishment of mangrove parks in the mangrove areas close to towns may be a very powerful and effective medium to educate people very powerful and effective medium to educate people especially children. The park may have facilities like Nature Education and Interpretation Centre, small library, boats for movement in the creeks, watch-towers, walk-ways, etc. Once the people realise the importance of mangrove ecosystem, they themselves come forward to protect and develop the ecosystem for their own benefit. Tanzania mangals are in a stressed condition and degrading day by day, likewise the other mangals of the SE Asian countries. These need well-planned policy making along with strict conservation measures, awareness programmes and people's participation (Naskar and Mandal, 1999).
· People's Involvement As far as possible local people should be involved in the mangrove conservation and development works. Local people’s participation may involve information sharing, consultation, decision making and implementation of plans (FAO, 1994).
People residing close to
mangrove forests, may prove very effective in the protection of the forests.
They may be made responsible for protection and in return government may offer
them fuelwood, small timber and other non- timber forest produce, for their own
use, derived from the mangrove forests. They may also be engaged as casual
labourers for raising mangrove nurseries, plantations and other works in order
to give them employment and earn their goodwill. During the period of their
employment, motivational efforts may bring active co-operation of the people in
mangrove forest protection, spreading awareness and other miscellaneous works
even after discontinuance of their employment with the government. | ||
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The mangrove forests at Can Gio (Vietnam) are divided into 24 sectors with clear natural borders (Cuong, 1994) and presents a classic example of people's involvement in management of mangrove forest. The main guard force includes workers from the Management Board of the City's Environmentally Protected Forests (MBCEPE), workers from the agro-forestry enterprises, employee of the Forester Agency, and household allotted forests to protect. Local households have signed 30- year contract with MBCEPE. To date, a total area of 10,850 ha has been allotted to 208 household forests. The guards are given monthly salaries, 35 percent of the forest produce from thinning, an allocation of 3 to 5 ha per household for aquaculture or salt-pans and reward for good protection of forests. Other benefits that the households have obtained are: money to build houses on allotted land, boats for forest protection, loans for fisheries production in accordance with the common plan and schedule of the city, and technical help through short training courses on thinning, reforestation and shrimp forming. These measures have successfully educated the local people about the role of the mangrove ecosystem in providing direct and indirect benefits (Hong, 1996). In India, if the people are to be involved in mangrove management, similar type of measures will have to be taken, otherwise active participation of people may not be achieved.
Survey of Mangroves So far no systematic ground survey of
mangrove has been done in Goa to find out precise area under mangroves and to
ascertain their ownership. This survey is very necessary for proper planning and
management of mangroves. The first step for preparation of management plan for
any mangrove area is a fact-finding survey. Unless the state of mangroves is
completely known, no plan for mangrove area can be prepared (Anonymous, 1989).
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Management of
Mangroves Occurring on the
Private and Village Community Land _____________________________________________________________
Mangroves on such type of lands may be conserved and developed with active co-operation of the owner of the land. Government may offer some benefits/ concessions to the owners of the land if they agree to conserve mangroves occurring on their lands. This requires detailed study and wide discussions on the subject matter before taking any action. The Government may also acquire some important mangroves bearing areas.
Planned Development All the developmental activities in the State should be planned in such a way so as to be in harmony with mangroves conservation and development works. Matang Mangroves have been often reported to be one of the best-managed mangroves in the world (Chan, 1996). The forest plantations through planned development are able to sustain ecological balance, forestry activities and also a wealth of fishing industries. Ong (1978) estimated that the Matang forest industries involving extraction and processing of timber provide employment for a direct work-force of about 1400 and an indirect work-force of another 1000. The total annual revenue from forestry is about a million US dollar (Haron, 1981). The fishing industries, on the other hand, provide direct employment for about 2600 workers and indirect employment for about 7500 workers. Annual revenue derived from fisheries has been estimated to be about 33 million US dollars (Tang et al., 1984). Thus, the 40,000 ha Matang Mangrove provides employment for a work-force of about 12,500 and annual revenue of about 42 million US dollars. On an area basis, this works out to a monitory return of just over 1000 US dollar per hectare. The coastal waters, estuaries and waterways of Matang support flourishing fishing industries while the extensive mudflats serve as feeding and stop over for both resident and migratory shore birds (Chan, 1996). Recently, efforts have been made to promote eco-tourism. Facilities available include a museum, boat cruising and boardwalks. The success of management is reflected in the extent of quality forest stands which accounts for about 85% of total mangrove area in Matang (Chan, 1996).
Infestation by Barnacles, Oysters, Crabs and Gastropods Nursery grown tall seedlings should be used for planting to reduce the infestations by barnacles as the leading shoot of tall seedlings remains above the water level. Taller seedlings are less vulnerable to attack by oysters, crabs and gastropods. Intensity of insect infestation is
higher in mono-specific crop, which can be controlled by raising mixed
plantations (Siddiqi et al., 1992). In Vietnam, planters apply sap of
Excoecaria agallocha to the
mangrove stem, which force the
barnacles to leave the mangrove seedlings or die. Some people place chemical
pesticides on a wet cloth and tap the bundle gently on the stems or roots of
mangrove plants where oysters are clinging at ebb tide. After 10-20 min., the
oysters leave the stand. However, these methods when applied can cause water
pollution (Hong, 1994). | ||
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Marine Algae To restrict the harm caused by algae, removal from the mud flat and from the seedlings is done manually at neap tide. Bent seedlings are strengthened and held up with the earth (Hong, 1996).
Research Activities To solve various problems, research work is necessary to find out their solution. Research is also needed to collect basic information required for appropriate management of mangrove ecosystem. The Government of India, through the Ministry of Environment and Forests has set up a National Mangrove Committee to plan research and development programmes for Indian mangroves. At the state level, there are State Level Steering Committees, which look into mangrove programmes. Although during the last 5 years much activity has taken place in the field of mangrove management, there is an urgent need to determine priorities under this programme. Conservation, afforestation, and thorough ecological studies of denuded mangrove areas are of the utmost importance (Untawale, 1992). Research activities should be scientifically designed. In Thailand, initially research programmes were not based on scientific designs and as a result during the last 20 years about 30% of the total mangroves have been destroyed (Aksornkoae, 1987). In Malaysia, during 1978, an
ad hoc Mangrove Research Co-coordinating Committee with the leadership of
the Malaysian Forest Research Institute was formed with the objectives to
co-ordinate the different research activities of the Malaysian mangroves and to
avoid duplication of works. Various institutes in Malaysia have taken up
activities and studies in connection with the development, management and
conservation of Malaysian mangroves. Some of the important studies are on the
topics like natural regeneration of important mangrove species, effect of
thinning on mangrove stands, phenological studies of economic mangrove tree
species, impact of bunding on mangroves, mangrove restoration along eroding
mangroves shores, natural succession following clear felling, planting trials of
Rhizophora in Avicennia forests and
Acrostichum infested areas, natural regeneration in exploited areas,
growth of mangrove trees in natural and exploited forests, etc. (Chan, 1987).
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Field, C. 1996. General guidelines for the restoration of mangrove ecosystems. In: International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa. Restoration of mangrove ecosystems. The author. pp.233-250.
Gilmore, R.G. and Snedaker, S.C. 1993. Mangrove forests. In: Martin, W.H; Boyce, S and Echtenacht, K. Eds. Biodiversity of the Southeastern United States: Lowland terrestrial communities. New York, John Wiley. pp. 165-198.
Haron, A.H. 1981. A working plan for the Matang mangrove, Perak, Perak State Forestry Department.
Hong, P.N. 1994. Re-afforestation of mangrove forests in Vietnam. In: Workshop on ITTO Project: Development and Dissemination of Re-afforestation Techniques of Mangrove Forests, Bangkok, 18-20 April 1994. Proceedings. Bangkok, ITTO. pp. 141-151.
Hong, P.N.1996. Restoration of mangrove ecosystems in Vietnam: a case study of Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City. Okinawa, International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems. pp. 82-95.
IUCN. 1987. Rapid assessment survey of the industrial pollution in Korangi-Phitti creek, Pakistan. IUCN. pp.2-6.
India. Indian Space Research Organisation. Remote Sensing Application Mission. 1992. Coastal Environment. Ahmedabad, ISRO. pp. 1-114.
India. Ministry of Environment and Forests. 1989. Conservation of mangroves in India. New Delhi, The author. pp 24-55.
Jagtap, T.G., Chavan, V.S. and. Untawale, A.G. 1993. Mangrove ecosystems of India: A need for protection. Ambio, 22 (4): 252-254.
Mercer, D.E. and Hamilton, L.S. 1984. Algunas ventajas economicas y naturales de los ecosistemas de manglares. La Naturaleza y sus Recursus, 20 (2): 14-19.
Nam Vien Ngoc. 1994. Plantation to rehabilitate mangroves in Can Gio, Ho Chi Minh City. In: National Workshop on Reforestation and Afforestation of Mangroves in Vietnam, Can Gio, Ho Chin Minh City. 6-8 August, 1994. Proceeding. Hanoi., The author. pp. 75-79.
Naskar, K.R.1985. Population pressure on the mangrove swamps on Sundarbans in India-its causes and problems: Population mapping. Calcutta, NATMO. pp. 159-161.
Naskar, K.R. and Mandal, R.N.1999. Ecology and biodiversity of Indian mangroves. Dehradun, Milton Book Company. pp. 3-348.
Ong, J.E. 1978. The Malaysian mangrove environment. In: The Regional Seminar on Human Use of the Mangrove Environment and Management, Dacca, 4-8 December 1978. The author.
Ong, J.E. 1982. Mangrove and aquaculture in Malaysia. Ambio, 11 (5): 252-257.
Qureshi, I. M. 1957. Botanical and
silvicultural features of mangrove forests.
In: Mangrove Symposium, Calcutta, 16-19 October 1957. pp. 20-26.
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Qureshi, M.T. 1996. Restoration of mangroves in Pakistan. Okinawa, The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems. pp. 129-142.
Razani, Ujang 1982. The role of mangrove forests in the management of coastal zone. In: Workshop on Ecological basis. Basis Rational Resource Utilization Humid Tropics in S.E. Asia, Sardang.
Saenger, P. 1986. Bangladesh Mangrove Afforestation Project. Melbourne, Sheeden Pacific Pty. Ltd. p. 63.
Sahani, K.C.1957. Mangrove forests in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In: . Mangrove Symposium, Calcutta, 16-19 October 1957. New Delhi, Manager of Publications. pp. 115-122.
Siddiqi, N.A.; Khan, M.A.S.; Islam, M.R. and Hoque, A.K.F.1992. Underplanting a means to ensure sustainable mangrove plantations in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Forest Science, 21: 1-6. Soemodihardjo, J.; Wiroatmodjo, P.; Mulia, F. and Harahap, M.K. 1996. Restoration of mangroves in Indonesia: A case study of Tembilahan, Sumatra. Okinawa, The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems. pp. 97-109.
Tang, H.T.; Haron, A.H. and Cheah, E.K. 1984. Mangrove forests of Peninsular Malaysia: A review of management and research objectives and priorities. In: The Asian Symposium on Mangrove Environment: Research and Management, Kuala Lumpur, 25-26 August 1980. Proceedings edited by E. Soepadmo, A.N. Rao and D.J. Macintosh.
Teas, H.J. 1979. Silviculture with saline water. In: Hollaender, A. Ed. The biosaline concept. New York, Plenum Press. pp. 117-161. Untawale, A.G. 1984. Present status of mangroves along the West Coast of India In: Asian Symposium on Mangrove Environment: Research and Management, Proceedings. pp. 57-74.
Untawale, A.G. 1985. Mangrove in India: Present status and multiple use practices, UNDP/UNESCO Regional Mangrove Project. 67p.
Untawale, A.G. 1987. Conservation of Indian mangroves: A national prospective. In: National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. Contribution in marine sciences. The author. pp. 85-101.
Untawale, A.G. 1992. Rehabilitation of coastal wetlands of India. In: Wali, Mohan K. Ed. Ecosystem rehabilitation, ecosystem analysis and synthesis. The Hague, Academic Publishing. pp.333-348.
Untawale, A.G. 1996. Restoration of
mangroves along the Central West Coast of Asia. In: The
International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa. Restoration of mangrove
ecosystems. The author. pp. 11-24.
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National
Workshop on Conservation and Sustainable
Utilisation of Lesser-Known
Tree Species March 8-10, 2004 Forest Research Institute Dehradun ______________________________________________________________
Traditionally the Indian society has depended on a large number of plant species for its subsistence and sustenance. However, with the advent of the so-called `scientific forestry' the emphasis shifted mainly to a few timber species which were required by the British Government for industrial development. Therefore, large number of traditionally important species are gradually disappearing from the forests although they have a good potential for commercial exploitation. To enable adequate attention towards the lesser known tree species (LKTS), a National Workshop on `Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of Lesser-Known Tree Species' is being organised by Forest Research Institute (Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education), Dehradun from March 8 to 10, 2004. The main objectives of the Workshop are to prepare an inventory of LKTS and document their uses, traditional knowledge and silviculture practices so that the age-old traditions could be revived and people are encouraged to plant these tree species.
WORKSHOP THEMES
THEME I _ Status of LKTS and their silviculture i. Inventorisation of species diversity and genetic resources. ii. Silviculture and planting stock improvement. iii. Role in eco-restoration and afforestation programmes. iv. Silvicultural options for natural forests. THEME II _ Preservation of indigenous knowledge i. Involving indigenous groups in management and conservation. ii. Intellectual Property Rights and transferring benefits to indigenous communities. iii. Participatory forest management with emphasis on LKTS. THEME III _ Utilisation and value addition i. Sustainable use of forest products _ food, fodder, oil, gums & resins and medicine. ii. Wood-based products. iii. Neutraceuticles and other non-traditional products. iv. Valuation and market strategies.
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THEME IV _ LKTS and poverty alleviation i. Alleviation of poverty and food insecurity ii. High nutrition fodder from LKTS. iii. Capacity building and employment generation. THEME V _ Conservation and sustainable management of LKTS i. Policy formulation. ii. Demonstrating sustainable management through technology transfer and training. iii. Greater involvement of stakeholders.
SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS / PAPERS
One page abstract (300 words) including the title, authors, affiliation and key words formatted in MS Word in " Times New Roman" font should be submitted to the organising secretary by January 31, 2004. Full papers (as per format of the journal Forest Ecology & Management) should be submitted by February 20, 2004. The abstracts/full papers can be e-mail at: mgera@icfre.org; pandeyr@icfre.org; singhyp@icfre.org. The delegates may also submit posters, which will be displayed at the venue of the Workshop. IMPORTANT DATES Submission of Abstract - January 31, 2004 Submission of Full Papers - February 20, 2004 Submission of Posters - March 8, 2004
REGISTRATION FEE: Nil
For further information contact Director, | ||
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Environmental Downs
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Facts for You
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, has directed the states to survey non-wood forest product resources and develop a database to regulate their judicious use avoiding both under-utilisation and over exploitation. The centre is trying to promote Madhya Pradesh model which, over the years has evolved into 1066 cooperative societies that give four such products viz. tendu leaves, sal seeds, gum and myrobalan or herra to an apex body called M.P. State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Cooperative Federation for marketing. About 15 lakh families are involved in this Rs. 200 crore business. The Times of India May 31, 2003
Soybean cultivation is dramatically expanding in Brazil, thereby eating up larger and larger chunks of land in the Amazon. There was 40 percent jump last year and 10,000 square mile of Amazon jungle was deforested. The Hindu, Sept. 20, 2003
Poplar cultivation has no more remained popular among farmers in north India. The prices of poplar wood have crashed from Rs. 300 - Rs. 400 per quintal last year to Rs. 125 - Rs. 200 per quintal this year. The Tribune, Sept. 20, 2003
The world market for herbal drugs is now worth $100 billion. It is dominated by the Northern bloc, comprising Germany, U.K., Sweden, Switzerland and the USA which account for $47 billion. Of the balance $ 53 billion, China commands 57 per cent of the market while India remains on the fringe with only a 2.3 per cent share. China has focused on the development of evidence-based medicine acceptable to the global market while India lacks behind because of the failure to absorb technology for scientific validation of traditional knowledge. The Hindu, Sept. 14, 2003
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The CVM is thus actually a public survey in which the respondents are presented with material, in the form of a personal interview usually, which consists of three parts as given below (Mitchell and Carson, 1989): [a] A detailed description of the goods or services being valued and the hypothetical circumstance under which it is made available to the respondent; [b] Questions which elicit the respondent's willingness to pay for the goods or services being valued; [c] Questions about respondent's characteristics (e.g. age, income), their preferences relevant to the good(s) being valued, and their use of the good(s). In case of a well-designed and carefully pre-tested study, the respondents' answers to the valuation questions should represent valid WTP responses. From these, a benefit estimate is developed. The results are then generalised with a known margin of error to the population from which the respondents were sampled. It has been found by many people that the respondents' value statements are highly dependent on the information contained in a CVM questionnaire (Fischoff and Furby, 1988).
Scope of the Study
Forest Research Institute (FRI) was established to organise and lead forestry research activities in the country. Its history is synonymous with the evolution and development of scientific forestry not only in India but also in entire subcontinent. Society has drawn a number of benefits from FRI such as over all output of forestry research, education and extension. Some of these outputs are improved quality of life, income generation, employment and quality forest products. Forests are key to global life support and forestry research helps in conservation of biodiversity. FRI estate not only has immense heritage value, it is also a centre of excellence in forestry research in the country. Despite in existence for almost a century, no attempt till date has been made to place a monetary value on the services that the society derives from FRI Estate. The present study is first of its kind in which attempt has been made to place a monetary value on an Institution mainly responsible for research and development. Following services being provided by FRI Estate have been valued in the present study: (1) Use values
A. Non-consumptive direct values:
B. Evolutionary Processes:
(2) Non-use values:
Since neither these services are traded in the market nor any market value can
be assigned using surrogate markets, Contingent Valuation Method was applied to
elicit the value of these services from the people.
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Study Area FRI Estate, spread over an area of around 1,200 acres and established in the year 1906, is the premier Institution of the country in the Field of the Forestry Research and is acclaimed World over. The Estate is situated between 300 19' 55" and 300 21' 16" N latitudes and 770 58' 40" and 780 01' E longitudes and is about 5 km away from the heart of the city of Dehradun. The area comes under the Western sub-Division of the Dehradun district. The Institute caters, in particular, to the research needs of the states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. However, technical knowledge and know-how is being provided not only to India, but to other countries as well. The research perspective of the Institute focus on enhancement in forest productivity; improvement of planting stock; rehabilitation of wastelands; efficient utilisation of wood and non-wood forest products and development of eco-friendly products and processes. FRI earned the status of Deemed University in 1991, with the objectives to impart education in different aspects of forestry and environment, provide for research advancement, dissemination of knowledge and to create consciousness about forests and environment among the people.
Methodology
The city of Dehradun was considered to be the Universe for this study. A total of 1% household were aimed to be surveyed during the study. For the purpose ward wise latest census data (2001) of the city was collected. The city has been divided into 60 wards. For estimation of number of households in a ward total population of each ward was divided by average number of family size, i.e., considered as six, and 1 per cent sample selected at random was identified making strata band on three income classes, i.e., lower, middle and high. A detailed draft questionnaire to elicit people's willingness to pay for the services that the society derives from FRI, was developed after an exhaustive literature review. It was discussed among the peers in this field and changes were made accordingly. The modified questionnaire was also sent to a few experts for comments and finally, a pre-test of the same was carried out. On the basis of the results of the pre-test the draft questionnaire was modified to obtain the final version of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into five sections, viz., attitudinal questions, scenario building and valuation, socio-economic details, respondent's evaluation and enumerator's evaluation. The average WTP obtained was then extrapolated to total number of households in Dehradun city. This value represents the total amount that the people of city of Dehradun are willing to pay for the services that the society derives from FRI.
Results and Discussion
A total of 812 filled questionnaires were obtained at the end of the survey. The questionnaires were screened to eliminate the ones in which evaluation of the respondent by the enumerator was not good or where they showed a lack of conviction in improvements that were mentioned as part of the scenario and also where the enumerators mentioned lack of understanding or seriousness on part of the respondents. In the process, 80 questionnaires were rejected and the number was reduced to 732, which included responses with zero willingness to pay. Therefore a total of 732 questionnaires were utilized for statistical analysis. The data obtained from the
questionnaires was utilized for stepwise regression analysis treating WTP as
dependent variable and rest of the quantitative and qualitative parameters as
independent variables. Several models were obtained and following model was
selected:
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WTP = 95.92 Edulvl + 124.75 Income - 88.78 Envimp + (13.91)* (13.75)* (25.02)* 116.15 Sex - 31.93 Visit no. + 57.62 Forestre (31.10)* (8.05)* (27.77) (R2 = 0.63) Where: WTP - Willingness to pay (Rupees per household per year)
Edulvl - Education level of the respondent Income - Income of respondent's household (Rupees per annum) Envimp - Importance attached to environmental issues by the respondent
Sex - Sex of the respondent (1: male; 2: female) Visit No. - Frequency of visits to FRI (Varies from daily to once a while) Forestre - Requirement of forestry research for welfare of society
The above model explained maximum variation in WTP. Six variables, viz., Edulvl, Income, Envimp, Sex, Visit no. and Forestre have significantly contributed towards the variation in WTP and nearly 63 per cent of the variation is explained by these variables. The mean WTP was calculated as Rs. 475.51, and the maximum WTP was observed to be Rs. 3500, however 74 respondents were not willing to pay anything at all. The mean value for WTP is taken for extrapolation of result to the whole Dehradun city. Altogether there are 71,050 households estimated in the city. Considering that the mean WTP to be taken is Rs. 475.51 the estimated WTP for the entire city was calculated as Rs 3,37,84,986 (appx. 33.78 million rupees). This is the amount the people of Dehradun city are willing to pay collectively on annual basis in order to derive the selected services that the institute provides to the society. The flexibility of the CVM permits its application to a wide range of non-market valuation problems. Past CVM studies carried out in India have focused on resource problems ranging from valuation of forest resources to valuation of benefits from water quality improvements. Hadker et al. (1997), reported an average value of Rs. 7.50 per month for next five years that the residents of city of Mumbai were willing to pay for the maintenance and preservation of Borivili National Park. In another study Chopra et al. (1999) reported an average WTP of Rs. 519.87 per year per household from the inhabitants of Terai region, spreading over five northern states, for different services derived from forests. The present study, however, focused
on the contribution of a key R&D institution towards management, conservation
and preservation of country's forests. The average value obtained per household
per annum is also composed of a significant portion of existence value, i.e.,
`heritage value' since the residents of Dehradun city feel attached to the FRI
campus particularly the main building.
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References _____________________________________________________________________
Brookshire, David S., and Eubanks, Larry S. 1978. Contingent valuation and revealing actual demand for public environmental commodities, Manuscript, University of Wyoming. Chopra, Kanchan and Kadekodi, Gopal. K. 1999. Valuation of forest resources: An application of the contingent valuation method. Delhi, IEG. Fischhoff, B. and Furby, L. 1988. Measuring values: A conceptual framework for interpreting transactions with special reference to contingent valuation of visibility. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1: 147-184. Hadker, Nandini; Sharma, Sudhir; David, Ashish and Muraleedharan, T.R. 1997. Willingness-to- pay for Borivili National Park: Evidence from a contingent valuation. Ecological Economics, 21: 105-122.
Biofuel: slip between cup and lip ?
_____________________________________________________________________
The recent experiences of Petroleum Ministry are going to dampen the spirits of bio-diesel enthusiasts in India. The petroleum Ministry has admitted that the bio-diesel is costing around Rs. 70 per litre in comparison with the cost of Rs. 20.73 per litre for diesel. Unless the cost of producing bio-diesel comes down drastically, the commercial use of bio-diesel will only remain a dream. A pilot project on bio-diesel to be started in Rewari, Haryana has also failed to get good response; only two companies filled the tender forms and offered to supply diesel at Rs. 70 per litre. Oil companies have now been directed to go slow on bio-diesel plans and focus more on ethanol-blended petrol. The oil of Jatropha, Karanj, etc. is planned to be used to produce bio-diesel.
Dainik Jaagran, Dec. 21, 2003
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Forest Biometry, Modeling and Information Sciences (FBMIS) http://www.fbmis.info A new free-access e-journal has been launched. This journal is concerned with the main methodological disciplines that support and contribute to research and management into forests, forestry and the forest environment. The journal is peer-reviewed and archival. The Journal of Urban Forestry and Urban Greening http://www.urbanfischer.de/journals/ufug This journal was founded in August 2002 under the Danish Forest and Landscape Research Institute in Denmark. The journal publishes fundamental and applied research on all aspects of green resources in and around urban areas. Water Information Network http://www.nwp.nl The network provides information on water subjects and knowledge from third parties in a particular field. It has a vast database with news facts, project descriptions, events information and contact addresses. Community Forestry Network in China http://www.cfnetwork.com.cn The nationwide Community Forestry Network in China was established in 1992. This network collects, disseminates and exchange information on experiences and methods of community forestry. The Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) http://www.treecrops.org/htm The STCP was created to achieve a shared vision for sustainable tree crop development. It is a public-private partnership between industry, producers, researchers, government agencies, public sector institutions and conservation groups. The STCP program framework allows a unique cooperation and coordination of field activities among all the partners. Its mission is to improve the economic and social wellbeing of smallholders and their communities, and ensure the environmental sustainability of tree crop systems. The Canadian experience on certification and commercial extraction of non-tree forest products (NTFP) is also accessible at this site. Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) http://www.cifor.cgiar.org The CIFOR is an international research and global knowledge institution committed to conserving forests and improving the livelihoods of people in the tropics. CIFOR's research helps local communities and small farmers gain their rightful share of forest resources while increasing the production and value of forest products. University Grants Commission (UGC) http://www.ugc.ac.in The UGC, established in 1956, is a statutory body of the Govt. of India for coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India. In pursuit of the above mandate, it also provides funds to universities and colleges and offers awards for excellence in the area of research and education. Forestry Research Partnership http://forestresearch.canadianecology.ca The Forest Research Partnership is a joint undertaking between the Canadian Ecology Centre, the Canadian Forest service, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and Tembec Inc. These four partners are working together to create a strategic alliance with benefits to both environment and forestry. It has applied cooperative programmes on fibre production, sustainability, forest management, operational implementation, spatial analysis, knowledge transfer, etc. | ||
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Development of appropriate technologies for marginal and wastelands in India will largely determine the future prospects of increasing food, fibre, fuel wood and timber production. The concept of agroforestry has undergone radical changes and fine tuning in recent years. It is technically feasible to grow trees in wastelands of different categories. Some of the tree species have wide adaptability and are emerging as commercial viable ventures. If all the direct, indirect, present and future benefits are included, the afforestation of wastelands might pass the test of profitability and economic viability. Major areas of wastelands in different states are shown in Fig. 1.
Fig .1. States with major degraded area.
Land Degradation Due to Water and Wind Erosion
Water erosion is the most serious degradation problem. Soil erosion by water takes place at an average rate of 16.35 tonnes/ha/year totalling 5,334 M tonnes /year. Nearly 29 per cent of the total eroded soil is permanently lost to the sea and nearly 10 per cent is deposited in reservoirs resulting in the reduction of their storage capacity by 1 to 2 per cent annually. Wind erosion is a serious problem in the arid and semi-arid regions including the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat. In India wind erosion is moderate to severe covering an area of 28,600 km2 of which 68 per cent is covered by sand dunes and sandy plains. For controlling water erosion from denuded and eroded hill slopes Acacia modesta, Acacia catechu, Prosopis juliflora, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Cassia siamea, Albizia lebbek and Anacardium occidentale should be planted. Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia nilotica var. cupressiformis, Acacia aneura, Acacia salicina, Acacia tortilis, Azadirachta indica, Parkinsonia aculeata, Prosopis juliflora, Albizia lebbeck, Casuarina equisetifolia and Eucalyptus camaldulensis, etc. can be used as windbreak or shelterbelt. Salix is a potential tree species for soil conservation. Acacia senegal, Acacia tortilis, calligonum polygonoides, Colophospermum mopane, Dichrostachys glomerata, Prosopis cineraria, Prosopis juliflora, etc. are the tree species for sand dune stabilization whereas Tecomella undulate, Holoptelea integrifolia, Albizia lebbek, Azadirachta indica, Cassia siamea, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Hardwickia binata, etc. can be planted on semi-established sand-dunes or established dunes.
Land Degradation Due to Chemical Deterioration
It can take place through the loss of
nutrients/or organic matter and accumulation of salts and/or pollutants. It is
reported that annual average loss of nutrients from land is worth 5.37 to 8.4 m
tonnes. Amongst the soil groups, Alfisols, Ultisols and Oxisols are prone to
chemical deterioration due to nutrient depletion. The net irrigated area in
India has increased from about 22 m ha in 1950 to 51 m ha at present. A large
portion of the irrigation has been achieved through expansion of canal irrigated
areas. Nearly 50 per cent of the canal irrigated areas are suffering from
salinisation or alkalisation due to inadequate drainage, inefficient use of
available water resources and socio-political reasons. Typical examples of
salinisation caused by the rise in ground water can be observed in Uttar
Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnatka and Rajasthan. In almost all cases,
water table which was several metres deep prior to the introduction of
irrigation has been rising following the introduction of irrigation. Soils with
pollutants from industries containing heavy metals can be reclaimed by planting
suitable tree species.
Salix viminalis is such a potential tree species which is used for soil
filtering. Tree species which can be planted on soils with different pH values
are given in Table 2. Prosopis juliflora, Acacia nilotica, Casuarina
equisetifolia
Tamarix articulata, Terminalia arjuna, Albizzia lebbek, Pongamia
pinnata, Sesbania sesban, Eucalyptus tereticornis
Dalbergia sissoo, Morus alba, Grevillia robusta, Azadirachta
indica,Tectona grandis, Ailanthus excelsa
Prosopis juliflora, Tamarix articulata, Casuarina
equsetifolia, Salvadora persica, Leucaena leucocephala, Eucalyptus camaldulensis
< 7.0 Acidic Table 2. Relative tolerance of tree
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Land Degradation Due to Physical Deterioration
It generally relates to decrease in soils organic matter making them more prone to crusting and increased runoff etc. Subsoil compaction has also been reported from intensively cultivated areas. However, by far the most serious physical degradation problem is of excessive wetness due to waterlogging which is the main cause of wetlands. Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow waters. Some of the important characters of a wetland are:
Excessive waterlogging along canal banks and forthcoming secondary salinity is rendering large area unproductive. It results in restriction of the normal circulation of air. The optimum depth of water table may vary from surface for rice and Salix spp. to about 1.5 m for poplar and field crops. The major rivers in India have extensive floodplains. The flat land close to the large rivers remains covered with flood waters due to natural floods during some seasons of the year. These areas remains completely inundated even after the flood waters recede. The flood plains are more diverse along the lower reaches of the rivers. Biodrainage is a biological option for controlling waterlogging and salinity which have become hazards for irrigated agriculture. Trees are planted in the waterlogged areas to reclaim the lands. On the other hand, sub-surface drainage system involves perforated pipes buried in trenches through which percolating sub-surface water can flow out of the area into the rivers etc. It is expensive, pollutes rivers and requires regular maintenance. Biodrainage is least expensive, environment friendly and is a step towards reforestation. Tree species which can be planted depending on plantation sites are listed in Table 3. Table 3. Promising tree species for special sites
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Most of the tree species recommended for improving different types of wastelands are already adopted in agroforestry in India (Table 4). Other tree species can also be tested under agroforestry with main emphasis on checking land degradation. Poplar is widely planted on irrigated
fertile lands in Punjab, Haryana, Western U.P. and tarai region of Uttaranchal;
but it does not thrive well in wastelands.
Eucalyptus is planted on field boundaries as well as in block
plantations.
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References
Elayutham, M.V. and Bhattacharyya, T. 2000. Soil and resource management. In: International Conference on Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Agricultural Production in the 21st Century, New Delhi, Feb. 14-18, 2000. 2000. Natural resource management for agricultural production in India, edited by J.S.P. Yadav and G.B. Singh. New Delhi, the author. pp 3-135
National Workshop on Reorientation of Diversified Agroforestry Systems for Profitable Rural Industries, Pantnagar, March 26-27, 2001. 2001. Proceedings. The author.
Singh, G.B. Ed.1997. Potential application of agroforestry systems from Indian subcontinent to the analogous ecozones of Africa. New Delhi, Indian Council of Agricultural Research. | ||
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The `Other Side' of Climate Change
Neeta Hooda Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun _ 248 006
There is enough evidence to suggest that the global warming is not a myth but a reality. Satellite reports confirm that Arctic ice has shrunk by 40 per cent and global sea levels have risen by 4 to 8 inches. Enough has been said and heard at the national and international forums about climate change. It is interesting to note, however, that the term `global warming' was rejected at the international forums in the initial years as the concept was misleading and negative in connotation. Subsequently a unanimous decision was taken to adopt a more acceptable and mild terminology and the phrase `climate change' was adopted. As intricate as the subject is, one does wonder whether all is wrong and negative with climate change or could there be some positive outcomes too. Well, some outcomes that can be perceived as positive even with the lack of huge formal endeavours by our country are as follows:
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In a nutshell the spirit with which the UNFCCC was convened needs to be
maintained. Currently, however, this seems far from reality. The divide between
interests of developed and developing nations seems to be widening with the USA
not ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. How can we achieve what we set out to if the
global negotiations are ridden with nations trying to watch their own interests
and loss of magnanimity to consider others' interests? May be it is time to
revisit the basics of initiating the global climate change mitigation process a
few decades.
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Did you Know ?
India's forest cover has increased marginally from 19.39 per cent of the total land area in 1999 to 20.55 per cent according to the State of Forest Report, 2001 released by Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun on March 22, 2003. FSI has remarked that the increase might not necessarily be due to actual afforestation. Instead this might be the result of the methodology adopted in the survey. Earlier surveys used visual methods after collecting photographs taken by satellites. But this time digital image processing method has been used which can map even one hectare clusters of trees. Earlier methods could measure forest cover only in clusters over 25 hectares.
The Supreme Court has allowed Himachal Pradesh government to do green felling on the condition that it will be carried out in accordance with forest working plans approved by the centre and a minimum 20 per cent of the revenue thus raised will be ploughed back for reforestation of the felled area.
Madhya Pradesh government has notified the Lok Vaniki Rules 2002 for scientific exploitation of private forests. It simplifies the cumbersome process of obtaining permission from the collector for felling of trees. The exploitation and management plans under the Lok Vaniki project will require to be endorsed by the State Forest Department prior to felling. The applications will be disposed of within 30 days. The exploitation and management will be done by gram panchayat or gramsabha.
Himachal Pradesh government has pleaded a case
for compensation before Planning Commission of India as it is losing a revenue
of Rs. 250 crore each year accruable from selective felling due to ban imposed
by the Supreme Court. The loss so far amounts Rs. 2,000 crore; but the
Commission was unmoved.
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Calendar of Meetings
6-7 February 2004
Annual Seminar on Environmental Management and Technologies in Pulp and Paper Mills, Kolkata. Contact: Dr. M. Patel, Executive Secretary, C.P.P.R.I. Campus, PO Box No. 47, Saharanpur _ 247001, Uttar Pradesh Fax: +91 80 5244592; e-mail: ippta@ippta.org
14-16 February 2004
International Workshop on Recent Trends in Environmental Sciences, New Delhi. Contact: Director, Workshop-RTES, National Environmental Science Academy, 206, Raj Tower-1, Alaknanda Community Centre, New Delhi _ 110019 e-mail: nesaindia@nesaindia.com
25-27 February 2004
National Seminar on Remote Sensing and its Applications in Environmental Management, Bangalore University, Bangalore. Contact: Prof. R.K. Somashekar, Deptt. of Environmental Sciences, Janan Bharthi, Bangalore University, Bangalore _ 5600056 Fax: +91-80-3219295; Email: rksmadhu@rediffmail.com
14-17 March 2004
Seventeenth North American Mushroom Conference and Sixteenth International Congress on the Science and Cultivation of Edible and Medicinal Fungi, Miami Beach, Florida, USA. Contact: American Mushroom Institute, 1 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20001, USA Fax: 202/408-7763
22-26 March 2004
International Conference on Innovative Techniques in Soil Survey, Cha-am, Thailand. Contact: Dr. Taweesak Vearasilp, Department of Land Development, Phaholythin Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok _ 10900, Thailand Fax: +66-2-579 1560; e-mail: vearasilp@access.inet.co.th
29 March - 1 April 2004
International IUFRO Symposium on Human Dimensions of Family and Farm Forestry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Contact: David M. Baumgartner, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646410, Pullman WA 99164 _ 6410, USA. e-mail: baumgartner@wsu.edu Fax: +1-509-335-2878; Website: www.familyforestry symposium.wsu.edu
12-14 April 2004
International Symposium on Management of Tropical Dry Forest, Woodlands and Savannas: Assessment, Silviculture and Scenarios, Brasilia, Brazil. Contact: Jose Imana Encinas, University of
Brasilia, Forestry Department, Caixa Postal: 04357 70919 _ 970, Brasili a, DF _
Brazil Fax: +55-61-3470631; e-mail:
iufro@unb.br Website: www.unb.br/ft/etl/iufro
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21-23 April 2004
Third International Symposium on Sustainable Management of Forest Resources, Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Contact: C. Fernando Hernandez Martinez, Calle Marti No.270, Esg. 27 de Noviembre, Pinar del Rio 1, Codigo 20100, Cuba Fax: (53-82) 779353; e-mail: fhernandez@af.upr.edu.cu
6-11 June 2004
Twelfth International Peat Conference, Tampere, Finland. Contact: Congreszon Ltd./IPS 2004 Italahdenkatu 22A Fin _ 00210, Helsinki, Finland Fax: +358(9) 58409555 e-mail: ips2004@congreszon.fl
27 June _ 2 July 2004
First World Congress of Agroforestry, Orlando, Florida, USA. Contact: Mandy Padgett, Conference Coordinator, Office of Conference and Institutes, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110750, Mowry Road Building 639, Gainesville, Florida, 32611 _ 0750 USA. Fax: +13523929734; e-mail: mrpadgett@mail.ifas.ufl.edu
1-2 September 2004
International Forest IT 2004 Congress and Exhibition, Jyvaskyla and Jamsankoski, Finland. Contact: e-mail: forestit@finpro.fi Fax: +358204695220 Website: www.finpromarketing.fi Please also see page 13 and 40 for detailed information about important national and international workshops/conferences organised by institutes under ICFRE Dehradun. " | ||
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N. Roychoudhury, K.C. Joshi and N.P. Shukla ______________________________________________________________________
Introduction Teak (Tectona grandis L.F., family Verbenaceae) has world wide reputation as a paragon among timber trees and is truly an Indian species. Madhya Pradesh is one of the states with extensive teak forests and is famous for its high quality teak timber. The most important teak forests are located in Hoshangabad, Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni and Mandla. A distinct variety of teak known as `teli', based mainly on leaf characters and resistance to its leaf skeletoniser, [Eutectona machaeralis (Walker) (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae)] is found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh. Distribution Teak, a species of world wide reputation among timber trees, is distributed predominantly in tropical or sub-tropical region. Indian region is considered to be the centre of maximum genetic diversity and variability of teak (Hedegart, 1975) with distribution over 8.9 million hectare (Seth and Kaul, 1978). The natural teak forests of India are confined to Peninsular India below 24oN latitude with a total area of about 1.4 million hectare (Pande, 1983). The most important teak forests are found in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala (Kumaravelu, 1992) besides Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa and Rajasthan. Madhya Pradesh is one of the states with extensive teak forests. The total forest cover of Madhya Pradesh (including Chhattisgarh) is 95221.14 sq. km. (i.e. 31% of total area), and teak forests occupy 17.88 per cent of total forest area (Anonymous, 2001). In Madhya Pradesh, the most important teak forests are in Hoshangabad, Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni and Mandla (Tewari, 1992). The detailed profile of teak forests of Madhya Pradesh is presented in Table 1 (Bebarata, 1999). Morphology Teak varies greatly from locality to
locality to locality in timber characteristics such as colour, grain, texture
and figure. In Seoni and Kanker in Madhya Pradesh, the timber is golden yellow (Tiwari
et al., 1998a). Morphological studies based on shape, size, colour and
texture of leaves and petiole determine variation within the species (Bor,
1939). Morphological variation in the form of a distinct variety known as `teli'
(meaning `only') based mainly on leaf characters and resistance to its leaf
skeletoniser [Eutectona machaeralis (Walker) (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae)],
is found in the forests of east Kalibhit range of north Khandwa Division, Damoh
and Sagar. It differs from the normal teak both morphologically as well as
phenologically with early leafing by a little over a month and early flowering
at the end of April. The leaves are smooth, shining, hairless and dark in colour.
The bole is more cylindrical with very little fluting. Variation in seedling
morphology such as rosette formation and 3 cotyledons instead of usually 2 have
also been recorded in this variety (Kaushik, 1956; Bedell, 1989). Taxonomically,
the teli variety
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Attribute Extent/Unit Total geographical area 4,43,446 sq. km Total forest cover 1,35,164 sq. km Per capita forest 0.002 sq. km Teak forest area 23,973 sq. km Percentage of teak forest 17.70% Teak forest : crown density class D1 157 sq. km D2 16,032 sq. km D3 7,784 sq. km Total 23,973 sq. km Total growing stock 1,226.44 lakh cu. m Volume of growing stock of teak forest ha 51.16 cu. m/ha Annual increment of teak forest 30.66 lakh cu. m Annual increment/ha of teak forest 1.28 cu. m/ha (*including Chhattisgarh )
Site Conditions The most suitable soil for teak is deep, well-drained alluvium with an optimum pH range of 6.5-8.0 (Kulkarni, 1951; Puri, 1951), and relatively high content of calcium and phosphorus (Bhatia, 1954). Most teak soils in Madhya Pradesh contain more than 3% exchangeable calcium that appears to be the critical minimum. Good regeneration occurs on soils with phosphorus content of 5-7 mg/100g soil. On lateritic soils teak growth deteriorates. Other factors that inhibit teak regeneration are water logging and low lime content (Kumaravelue, 1992).
Table 2. Classification of teak forests of Madhya Pradesh Type Ecotype Forest type Rainfall (mm) Division I 3 B/C 1(b) Moist teak forests 1600-2500 Hoshangabad (P) II 3 B/C 1(c) Slightly moist teak forests 1200-1600 South Seoni, south Mandla, south Balaghat, north Balaghat, Kanker, Hoshangabad III 5 A/C 1(b) Dry teak forests 900-1200 Harda, north Khandwa, Indore, Dewas, Dhar, Guna (P) north Seoni, Damoh, Jabalpur, Narsingpur, east Bhopal, west Bhopal, Sagar, south Chhindwara, east Chhindwara, south Betul, east and west Sidhi, Umaria lV 5 A/C 1(a) Very dry teak forests. <900 East Khargone, Jhabua, South Khandwa, Shivpuri, Guna(P), Tikamgarh.
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Climate Teak grows under a variety of edaphic and climatic conditions from sea level to an altitude of 1200 m and in the precipitation range of 800 to 2500 mm (Seth and Khan, 1958; Khanna, 1984; Bhatia 1959; Sagreiya, 1959, Sharma, 1959). As recommended in the proceedings of All India Teak Symposium, 1957-58, as well as in the classification adopted by Champion and Seth (1968), the teak forests of Madhya Pradesh are classified on the basis of rainfall and temperature variations. The areas falling in similar ranges of annual rainfall and temperature are grouped together to form one ecotype (Table 2). The distribution of natural teak forests in Madhya Pradesh is given in Table 3 (Tewari et al., 1998b).
Table 3. Natural teak forests in Madhya Pradesh District Teak forest (sq. km.) Type of forest Rainfall (mm) Balaghat 92.27 Slightly moist teak 1400-1450 Betul 1606.85 Dry teak 950-1000 Bhopal 16.19 Dry teak 1150-1200 Chhatarpur 127.53 Dry teak 1000-1050 Datiya 58.31 Very dry teak 700-750 Dhar 1065.31 Very dry teak 700-800 Dewas 724.81 Dry teak 900-1000 Damoh 866.37 Dry teak 1050-1100 Guna 425.41 Dry teak 950-1000 Hoshangabad 2641.43 Slightly moist teak 1200-1250 Indore 444.81 Very dry teak 800-900 Jabalpur 210.71 Dry teak 1150-1200 Jhabua 535.63 Very dry teak 700-750 Khargon 1003.49 Very dry teak 750-800 Khandwa 1401.25 Very dry teak 750-800 Mandla 740.60 Slightly moist teak 1300-1350 Mandsour 645.27 Very dry teak 700-750 Narsingpur 644.21 Dry teak 1100-1150 Panna 941.26 Dry teak 1050-1100 Raisen 273.30 Dry teak 1100-1150 Rewa 54.78 Dry teak 1050-1100 Rajgarh 62.12 Dry teak 900-950 Ratlam 25.37 Very dry teak 800-850 Sajapur 10.97 Dry teak 950-1000 Sagar 671.15 Dry teak 1100-1150 Sidhi 11.62 Dry teak 1150-1200 Sheopur 1.88 Very dry teak 800-850 Sheopuri 12.28 Very dry teak 750-800 Seoni 1826.11 Slightly moist teak 1200-1250 Sehore 625.25 Dry teak 1100-1150 Satna 312.43 Dry teak 950-1000 Shahdol 26.55 Dry teak 1150-1200 Tikamgarh 249.68 Very dry teak 800-850 Vidisa
28.20
Dry teak
950-1000
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Phenology Teak is a large deciduous tree. In Madhya Pradesh, teak sheds leaves from December to February and remains leafless during the month of March to April. The new leaves appear normally during May to June, according to locality. The inflorescence appears in the rainy season from August to October. The fruit setting occurs from August to November. The fruits ripen from December to February and fall during March to April. Ansari et al. (2001) conducted a systematic phonological study on teak of Madhya Pradesh, which revealed that teak grows actively, producing new flush of leaves during the period from April-June (Table 4).
Table 4. Phenological behaviour of teak in Madhya Pradesh* Month Leaf flushing Foliage Flowering Fruit Setting January +++++ +++++ February +++++ ++ March April May ++ June +++++ + July +++++ August +++++ +++ ++++ September +++++ +++++ +++++ October +++++ ++++ +++++ November +++++ +++++ December +++++ +++ (+ indicates intensity of occurrence of the parameter. ) (*observations based on 5 donor trees selected randomly from plantation of teak of 40 years old at Moeanala, Jabalpur.)
Yield Tables Looking into long felt need, recently Tiwari et al. (1998b) have prepared yield table of teak in Madhya Pradesh on the basis of growth data of 35 sample plots established by State Forest Research Institute in artificially regenerated forest area situated in different zones such as Seoni (20), Betul (5), Hoshangabad (4) and Indore (2). The authors have drawn following conclusions from yield tables:
Table 5. Growth and yield of teak in
Madhya Pradesh in respect of different zones
Parameter Zone Crop height Hoshangabad > Seoni > Sagar > Betul >Indore
Top height Hoshangabad > Seoni > Sagar > Betul > Indore
Crop diametrer Hoshangabad > Seoni > Sagar > Betul > Indore
Total yield/ha Hoshangabad > Seoni > Sagar > Betul > Indore
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Table 6. Teak plantations raised by
Forest Development Corporation of Madhya Pradesh up to 1993
Name of district and project Area of plantation (ha) Hoshangabad and Chhindwara 7,804 Seoni _ Barghat Project 10,433 Balaghat _ Lamta Project 11,723 Mandla _ Mohgaon Project 12,150 Betul _ Kesla Project 8,202 Jabalpur _ Kundam Project 11,087 Mandla _ Nainpur Project 8,565 Shadol _ Umariya Project 9,839 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 79,803
Teak Plantation In the post-independence period, formation of Forest Department Corporation heralded an era of teak plantation in the state of Madhya Pradesh by improving the planting technology and managing teak plantation scientifically (Bebarta, 1999). The extent of plantations made by Forest Development Corporation in the state of Madhya Pradesh is presented in Table 6. In spite of centuries of heavy and usually dysgenic exploitation, the natural teak forests of Madhya Pradesh still offer valuable gene resources. Although, large-scale teak plantations are being established in many places of Madhya Pradesh, in most cases these represent only a fraction of the species genetic variability. It is, therefore, necessary that major teak plantation programmes should cover a wide range of seed source. Since, teak is one of the dominant species of Madhya Pradesh, more emphasis should be given on systematic research, both basic and applied, that may lead to substantial economic gain in tree improvement programme due to high value of timber and the large area of Madhya Pradesh under teak. | ||
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Acknowledgements
Authors owe thanks to Madhya Pradesh
Council of Science and Technology, Bhopal, for financial assistance of research
project entitled "Screening and identification of teak of Madhya Pradesh for
resistance against major insect pests", to which this publication is related.
Authors are also thankful to Shri P.K. Shukla, IFS, Director, Tropical Forest
Research Institute, Jabalpur for providing necessary facilities and, Dr. A.K.
Mandal, Scientist F and Head, Genetics and Plant Propagation Division of this
Institute, for making critical comments and suggestions.
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References
Madhya Pradesh. Forest Department. 2001. M.P. Forest Statistics. Bhopal, M.P. Govt. 84 p.
Ansari, S.A.; Kumar, S.; Sharma, S. and Shirin, S. 2001. Clonal propagation of teak. In: Mandal, A.K. and Ansari, S.A. Eds. Genetics and silviculture of teak. Dehradun, International Book Distributors. pp 165-186.
Bebarta, K.C. 1999. Teak _ Ecology, silviculture, management and profitability. Dehradun, International Book Distributors. 376 p.
Bedell, P.E. 1989. Preliminary observations on variability of teak in India. Indian Forester, 115(2): 72-81.
Bhatia, K.K. 1954. Factors in the distribution of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) and a study of teak forests of Madhya Pradesh. Ph.D. thesis. Sagar University, Sagar.
Bhatia, K.K. 1959. Teak bearing forests of old Madhya Pradesh. Indian Forester, 85(12): 710-722.
Bor, N.L. 1939. Summary of the results of the All India Co-operative Teak Seed Origin Investigation. In: 5th Silvicultural Conference, Dehradun, 30 October - 8 November 1939. Proceedings. Dehradun, Forest Research Institute. p. 115.
Champion, H.G. and Seth, S.K. 1968. A revised survey of the forest types of India. Delhi, Manager of Publications. 404 p.
Dogra, P.D. 1981a. Forest genetics-research and application in Indian forestry _ I. Indian Forester, 107(4): 191-219.
Dogra, P.D. 1981b. Forest genetic-research and application in Indian forestry _ II. Indian Forester, 107(5): 263-288.
Hedegart, T. 1075. Breeding systems, variation and genetic improvement of teak (Tectona grandis Linn.f.). In: Burley, J. and Styles, B.T. Eds. Tropical trees variation: Breeding and conservation. New York, Academic Press.
Kaushik, R.C. 1956. Teli variety of Tectona grandis. In: 9th Silvicultural Conference, Dehradun, 7 - 10 December 1956. Proceedings. Dehradun, Forest Research Institute. pp. 92-94.
Khanna, L.S. 1984. Principles and practice of silviculture. Dehradun, Khanna Bandhu. 471 p.
Kulkarni, D.H. 1951. Distribution of teak
(Tectona grandis L.f.) on the northern slopes of the Satpuras with
special reference to geology. In: 8th Silvicultural Conference,
Dehradun, 5_14 December 1951. Proceedings. Dehradun, Forest Research Institute.
pp 254-263.
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Puri, G.S. 1951. Advances in the ecology of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.). In: 8th Silvicultural Conference, Dehradun, 5-14 December 1951. Proceedings. Dehradun, Forest Research Institute. pp. 242-249.
Sagreiya, K.P. 1959. Silviculture and management of the teak forests of Madhya Pradesh. In: All India Teak Study Tour and Symposium, Dehradun, 5 December_5 January 1959. Proceedings. Dehradun, Forest Research Institute. pp. 69-72.
Seth, S.K. and Khan, W.M.A. 1958. Regeneration of teak forests. Indian Forester, 84(8): 455-466.
Seth, S.K. and Kaul, O.N. 1978. Tropical forest ecosystems of India: the teak forests. In: Tropical forest Ecosystems: A state of knowledge report prepared by UNESCO/UNEP/FAO. Paris, UNESCO. pp. 628-640.
Sharma, N.K. 1959. Working plan for Betul forest division, western circle, M.P. 1952-53 to 1966-67. Vol. I. Gwalior, Govt. Regional Press.
Tewari, D.N. 1992. A monograph on teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f.) Dehradun, International Book Distributors. 479 p.
Tiwari, K.P.; Sharma, M.C. and Jalil, P. 1998a. Seed production in teak seed orchards in Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur, State Forest Research Institute. 55 p.
Tiwari, K.P.; Sharma, M.C. and Panday, R.L.
1998b. Yield and stand tables of teak in Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur, State Forest
Research Institute. 85 p.
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IUFRO Congress 2005 - Scientific Awards
_________________________________________________
The IUFRO President invites nominations for the awards to be presented at the XXII IUFRO World Congress, 8-13 August 2005, in Brisbane, Australia. The invitation is extended to all Member Organisations, Individual Members and Officeholders.
The life award shall recognise research results published in scientific journals, proceedings of scientific meetings or books, or appropriate patents or other relevant evidence that clearly demonstrates the importance of the scientific or technical achievement to the advancement of forestry or forests research. Up to ten SAA may be presented at the Congress.
This award shall recognise outstanding individual scientific achievements of young scientists. The awards will be made for path-breaking doctoral theses including postdoctoral or other scientific activities within five years after the dissertation. One Outstanding Doctoral Research Award per IUFRO Division may be made at each IUFRO World Congress.
This award shall recognise outstanding posters presented at the Congress. Awards will be made for quality of research design, presentation of data, organisation and neatness of the poster. Up to eight awards may be made for posters fitting in the scope of activities of IUFRO's 8 Divisions. Additional awards may be made for posters related to Congress Themes/Task Forces.
Award: Both the SAA and the ODRA consist of a medallion, a scroll and a cash honorarium (1,500 USD). Visit our Web site under Honours and Awards at http://iufro.boku.ac.at
Nomination: Nominations may be made by a member of the nominee's parent organisation, by Coordinators of IUFRO Divisions, Research Groups, Working Parties and Task Forces, and by other officers and knowledgeable persons associated with the Union - but no self-nominations. Nominees must either belong to IUFRO Member Organizations or be Individual Members of IUFRO. Please use the nomination forms available at all Member Organizations and from the IUFRO Secretariat.
Evaluation:
Nominations are evaluated by
the Honours and Awards Committee and approved by the Board of IUFRO. The
names of recipients will be published in IUFRO News, the Annual Report and the
World Congress Report. | ||
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Deadline: Nominations and supporting documents should be sent by 31 January 2004 to the Chair of the IUFRO Honours and Awards Committee.
Award: The Award consists of a medallion and a certificate.
Requirements: Research suitable for the Best Poster Award may be self-contained, or part of a larger project, or a preliminary communication from a study yet to be completed or published. The only restriction is that the work submitted must be at a stage that it can be presented as a poster by the required date.
Application: Application must either belong to a Member Organisation of IUFRO or be an Individual Member of IUFRO. No member of the IUFRO Enlarged Board is eligible for the award while in office. Applicants shall send an Expression of Interest (EoI) in participating in the competition to the Chair of the Honours and Awards Committee, c/o IUFRO Secretariat.
Deadline: A deadline will be given in the congress Registration Package, a special issue of IUFRO News published early in 2005.
Dr. Karel Vancura | ||
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Forest
Research Institute, Dehradun
Short-Term Training Courses:
Calendar for 2004
Course Course Director Division Dates :
1. Management of Forest
Dr. Veena Chandra Botany
23-27 Feb., 2004
2. Classification and Grading
Sh. V.K. Jain
Forest Products 22-26 Mar., 2004
3. Wood Seasoning Dr. Kishan Kumar Forest Products 26-30 Apr., 2004
4. Wood Preservation Technology Dr. Indradev Forest Products 10-14 May, 2004
5. Basic Training in Field
Dr. Sangeeta
Gupta Botany
24-28 May, 2004
6. Wood Technology Sh. S.P. Badoni Forest Products 21-25 Jun., 2004
7. Environmental Impact
Dr. P. Soni
Ecology and
14-18 Jun., 2004
8. Nursery and Dr. Rajiv K. Srivastava Silviculture 05-09 Jul., 2004
9. Biodiversity Conservation Dr. SAS Biswas Botany 26-30 Jul., 2004
10. Environmental Problem and Dr. Laxmi Rawat Ecology and 19-23 Jul., 2003 Bioremediation Techniques Environment
11. Plywood Manufacture D.P. Khali Forest Products 09-13 Aug., 2004
12. Development of Green Belts Dr. Veena Chandra Botany 23-27 Aug., 2004 Customised courses :
Customised courses on related topics are also organised for exclusive requirement of specific groups or organizations. Some of such subjects are: Fibre Analysis of Paper, Environmental Protection, Wood Processing, Technology for Handicrafts, and Forestry Extension. | ||
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For details please
contact:
The Head, Extension Division, Forest
Research Institute, Dehradun - 248 006.
Phone: 0135 _ 2758606; Fax: 0135 _ 2756865.
e-mail:
khannap@icfre.org. | ||
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GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND ROLE OF
Rita Dhawan and Mudit Kumar Singh Indian Council of
Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun _ 248 006
___________________________________________________________________
Introduction The climate of the earth is affected by changes in radiation balance of the atmosphere due to various sources. These include atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases (GHGs), which have been increasing due to human activities. An increase in concentrations of green house gases is expected to raise the global temperature. The atmospheric concentration of GHGs has risen from 280 ppm in the year 1750 to 368 ppm in 2000, which is likely to be between 540 and 970 ppm by the year 2100 (Ravindranath, 2002). The so-called global warming effect has attracted worldwide attention on climate change issues. It has been widely accepted now that the most important cause for global climate change is human interference in the natural cycle of GHGs. Emissions resulting from human activities primarily the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas and changes in the land use and land cover, etc. are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentration of GHGs i.e. carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide. The increase in GHGs concentration is gradually changing the global climate resulting in an additional warming of the earth's surface. Forests play a beneficial role in global climate change. They are vulnerable to projected climate change and provide large mitigation opportunities to stabilise GHGs concentration in the atmosphere. Green House Gases (GHGs) and their Effect on Climate Change: IPCC Report _ I According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the important greenhouse (GHGs) causing global climate change are carbon dioxide (Co2), methane (CH4), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), nitrous oxide (N2O), tropospheric ozone (O3) and stratospheric water vapour (H2O). The major contributor to increased concentrations of GHGs since pre-industrial times is CO2 (61%) with substantial contributions from CH4 (17%), N2O (4%) and CFcs (12%), stratospheric H2O (6%). The recent decadal increase in radiatively active (greenhouse) gases is CO2 (56%), CH4 (11%), N2O (6%), CFCs (24%), stratospheric H2O (4%). Ozone is an effective greenhouse gas and its concentration in the troposphere is highly variable because of its short lifetime. It is photo-chemically produced in-situ through a series of complex reactions involving carbon monoxide (CO), CH4, non methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and nitrogen oxide radicals (NOx). Hence, the concentration of O3 largely depends upon its precursor gases. There is evidence that concentration of O3 has decreased by a few percent globally within the last decade. The causes identified for enhancement of GHGs are:
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Table . 1. Characteristics of Green house Gases. Gas Major contributor? Long lifetime? Sources known? Carbon dioxide Yes Yes Yes Methane Yes No Semi-quantitatively Nitrous oxide Not at present Yes Qualitatively CFCs Yes Yes Yes HCFCs, etc Not at present Mainly no Yes Ozone Possibly No Qualitatively
The cited emissions can be brought down by reducing use of fossil fuels and using more and more bio-energy. Some gases are potentially more effective than others at changing climate and their relative effectiveness can be estimated. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, all have significant natural and human sources, while the chlorofluorocarbons are only produced industrially. Two important green house gases are water vapour and ozone. Water vapour has the largest green house effect, but its concentration on global scale is not affected by human sources and sinks. Water vapour will increase in response to global warming. The concentration of ozone is changing in the atmosphere due to human activities. Carbon dioxide, as per the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India, accounts for the maximum greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries. Fuel combustion is the biggest contributor. Other areas of concern for global warming include industry, agriculture and the burning of coal and wood.
Impacts of Climate Change: IPCC Report _ II The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to provide scientific opinion on climate change. The assessment by IPCC reveals that human health, ecological systems and socio-economic sectors are vulnerable to changes in climate including the magnitude and rate of climate change as well as to changes in climate variability. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use and land cover, are increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, which alter radioactive balances and tend to warm the atmosphere, and in some regions, aerosols which have an opposite effect on radioactive balances and tend to cool the atmosphere, are also affected.
Since aerosols do not remain in
the atmosphere for long period and global emissions of their precursors are not
projected to increase substantially, aerosols will not offset the global
long-term effects of greenhouse gases, which are long-lived. | ||
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These changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols, taken together are projected to lead to regional and global changes in temperature, precipitation, and other climate variables resulting in global changes in soil moisture, an increase in global mean sea level and prospects for more severe extreme high temperature events, floods and droughts in some places. Climate models project that the mean annual global surface temperature will increase by 1 to 3.5oC by 2100, that global mean sea level will rise by 15 to 95 cm, and that changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation would occur. The average rate of warming probably would be greater than any seen in the past 10,000 years (IPCC Report _ II, 1998). Scientific studies show that human health, ecological systems, and socio-economic sectors e.g. hydrology and water resources, food and fibre production, coastal systems, and human settlements, all of which are vital to sustainable development, are sensitive to changes in climate including the magnitude and rate of climate change as well as to changes in climate variability.
Kyoto Protocol In December 1997, during a Conference of Parties 3 (COP3), a protocol known as the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. The Protocol legally binds industrialised countries to reduce their collective emissions of the greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent by the first commitment period (2008 _ 2012). GHGs by 59 protocols have been developed (WRI, 2001) and GHGs Registry (Environmental Resources Trust, 2000) are functioning for carbon credits. In addition to domestic reductions, the Protocol has included three Flexible Mechanisms i.e. Emissions Trading, Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism, with the prime aim to reduce the collective global carbon. These mechanisms will help the countries indicated in Table 2 to achieve their obligations cost effectively (Samsudin, 2001). Kyoto Protocol further makes provision to take into account afforestation, reforestation and deforestation and other agreed land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) in meeting their commitments 2000 (Vine et al., 2001). The main difference between the first two mechanisms with the third is that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows gaining of credits in countries that do not have emission targets. There were concerns, especially amongst the European Union (EU) countries, that any CDM Project would allow greater emissions from industrialised nations. In particular, forestry or `carbon sink' projects will only temporarily offset those additional emissions because the carbon stores in the vegetation is released when the forests are harvested or burnt, trees decay or the forest lands are converted to other uses.
Role of Forests in Climate Change Mitigation Developing countries recognise the role and importance of the forests as `sinks and reservoirs' of carbon. As such, planting or protecting trees and issues of forest management are drawing global attention. Forests play a critical role in global carbon cycle. They contribute about 20 percent of global CO2 emissions and are vulnerable to projected climate change. Sustainable
management of forests and raising plantation of trees can combat deforestation
and minimise carbon emissions, thereby, acting as carbon sinks. Plants capture
CO2 from the atmosphere and release oxygen through photosynthesis. Some of the
CO2 is lost through respiration, but a major part is sequestered in living
organisms, and dead organic matter, for instance in wood, wood products and
soils. While burning fossil fuels releases CO2 that has been locked up for
millions of years; whereas burning biomass implies return to the atmosphere of
the CO2 that was absorbed as the plants grew. Under suitable management, this
CO2 is again recaptured by the growing forest and there is not net release of
CO2.
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Harvested wood from forests is converted into wood products, which also act as a sink until the decay or destruction of old products. Forests and their products have a finite capacity to store CO2 from the atmosphere, hence, they act as a perpetual carbon store only when managed sustainably and otherwise release the carbon previously fixed. If biomass, including wood, is substituted for fossil fuels, land used for sustainable biomass and bio-energy production can continue to provide emission reduction indefinitely with the greater bio-energy production achieved from the newly created forests or adapted agricultural systems. It is estimated that bio-energy may reduce global CO2 emissions in the year 2050 by up to 25 percent of projected fossil fuel emissions (Matthews and Robertson, 2002).
Table 2. Countries using emission control mechanism Sl. no Country Sl.no Country
1. Australia 22. Liechtenstein 2. Austria 23. Lithuania 3. Belarus 24. Luxembourg 4. Belgium 25. Monaco 5. Bulgaria 26. Netherlands 6. Canada 27. New Zealand 7. Croatia 28. Norway 8. Czech Republic 29. Poland 9. Denmark 30. Portugal 10.
European Economic 31.
Romania 32. Russian Federation 11. Estonia 33. Slovakia 12. Finland 34. Slovenia 13. France 35. Spain 14. Germany 36. Sweden 15. Greece 37. Switzerland 16. Hungary 38. Turkey 17. Iceland 39. Ukraine 18. Ireland 40. Great Britain & 19. Italy Northern Ireland 20. Japan 41. United States 21. Latvia of America
The United Nation's Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as the Protocol acknowledged the role and
importance of the forests as `sinks and reservoirs' of carbon. Article 4 of the
Convention requests countries to protect sinks such as the forests while Article
2 of the Protocol requires that they should be managed on a sustainable basis.
Forest related activities have been linked to the Flexible Mechanism and some
parties notably the US, wanted to gain emission credits by planting or
protecting trees and by sustainably managing forest resources (Samsudin, 2001).
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Future Strategies to Reduce Climate Change Effect There are many uncertainties in our predictions particularly with regard to the timing, magnitude and regional patterns of climate change and due to our incomplete understanding of:
There is a need to provide a scientific assessment of:
Studies and assessment of climate change issues will be conducted by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India being the nodal agency in India and USEPA in U.S.A. (Singh, 2002). References Environmental Resources Trust, Washington D.C. 2000. Growing the business of environmental protection. Washington D.C., Environmental Resources Trust. 16 p. Houghton, J.T. et al. 1990. IPCC Working Group _ I Report. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. pp. xi-xxi. Mathews, R. and Robertson, K. 2002. Wood energy, carbon sinks and global climate change. Unasylva, 53 (211): 22. Obasi, G.O.P. and Dowdeswell, E. 1998. Regional impacts of climate change: IPCC Working Group Report _ II. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Ravindranath, N.H. 2002. In: International Workshop on Forestry and Climate Change. New Delhi, 23 _ 24 September, 2002. Proceedings. Dehradun, ICFRE. Samsudin, M. 2001. Global Climate Change and the World Concerns (Part II). In: FRIM in Focus. Kepong, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. Singh, Mudit Kumar and Dhawan, R. Eds. 2002. International Workshop on Forestry and Climate Change, New Delhi, 23-24 September, 2002. Proceedings, Dehradun, ICFRE, pp 1-14. Vine, E.L., et al. 2001. An overview of guidelines
and issues for the monitoring, evaluation, reporting, verification and
certification of forestry projects for climate change mitigation. Global
Environment Change, 11: 203 _ 216.
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IUFRO
International Conference on
Multipurpose Trees in the Tropics: Assessment, Growth and Management
Jodhpur, November 22-25, 2004
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International Conference on Multipurpose Trees in the Tropics: Assessment, Growth and Management is being organised by Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur — a constituent institute of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun and sponsored by International Union of Forestry Research Organisations (IUFRO).
Objective: To bring together scientists, foresters and all other stakeholders to evaluate the status of assessment techniques, genetic improvement, modelling and management of multipurpose trees.
Topics: 1. Management of multipurpose tree species (MPTS) including trees of medicinal value; 2. Assessment of trees outside forests; 3. Modelling growth and production data needs, techniques; 4. Improvement strategies for MPTS with special emphasis on tree genetics.
Call for Papers: One page abstract, not exceeding 500 words, including the title , authors, affiliation and keywords should be submitted to the conference secretariat by 28th February 2004. Authors of papers for oral or poster presentations will be notified by the end of March 2004.
Contact: Dr. V.P. Tewari,
Forestry and agriculture face similar challenges Today, agriculture and the forest sector are more inextricably linked than ever before as they face similar challenges in coping with poverty and food insecurity. While these problems contribute to forest destruction and degradation, the solution for alleviating them and for minimizing the negative impacts of agriculture on the environment involves a complex set of factors, using the best of old and new technologies, innovating ideas and modern institutional arrangement. The sustainable management of forests and trees, including the use of agroforestry and watershed management, is an integral part of the effort to reduce food insecurity, alleviate poverty and improve environmental quality for the rural poor. Technological innovations and new management methods that increase agricultural and forest yields per hectare can also have a significant positive impact on the world's forest. 1. Alexander, M.E. and Thomas, D.A. 2003. Wildland fire behaviour case studies and analysis: Value, approaches and practical uses. Fire Management Today,63(3): 4-8.
2. Barnes, Douglas and Priti Kumar. 2003. Success factors in improved stoves programmes: Lessons from six states in India. Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy,5(2): 99-112.
3. Collins, Dennis et al. 2003. Species separation of Taxus baccata, T. canadensis, and T. cuspidate (Taxaceae) and origins of their reputed hybrids inferred from RAPD and CPDNA data. American Journal of Botany, 90(2): 175-180.
4. Bhargava, P.M. 2003. Biotech success in India. Bio-Spectrum, 1(3): 43-44.
5. Bhojvaid, P.P. 2003. Medicinal plants based forest management: Problems and prospects. Indian Forester, 129(1): 25-36.
6. Boag, Peter R. et al. 2003. Genomics of reproduction in parasitic nematodes – fundamental and biotechnological implications. Biotechnology Advances, 21(2): 103-108.
7. Bond, William J. and Midgley, Jeremy J. 2003. The evolutionary ecology of sprouting in woody plants. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 164(3 Suppl.) S103-S114.
8. Bruinsma, J. Ed. 2003. World agriculture towards 2015-2030: An FAO perspective. Rome, FAO. 444 p.
9. Clement, R. et al. 2003. Net carbon productivity of Sitka spruce forest in Scotland. Scottish Forestry,57(1): 5-10.
10. Du, J. et al. 2003 Antiviral flavonoids from the root bark of Morus alba L. Phytochemistry, 62(8): 1235-1238.
11. Gan, Jianbang and Ganguli, Sabyasanchi. 2003. Effects of global trade liberalisation on U.S. forest products industries and trade: A computable general equilibrium analysis. Forest Products Journal, 53(4): 29-35.
12. Geneletti, David. 2003. Biodiversity impact assessment of roads: An approach based on ecosystem rarity. Environment Impact Assessment Review, 23(3): 343-366.
13. Hawley, Michael. 2003. Eco-logic. Span, 44(1): 55-57.
14. Jarvis, P. 2003 Trees and peat: Carbon sources or sink ? Scottish Forestry, 57(2): 81-90.
15. Jha, Mohan. 2003. Community based conservation and management of medicinal plants in India. Indian Forester, 129(2): 187-197.
16. Khatun Shahnaz et al.2003. Changes in physico-chemical compositions and activities of some hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes in the two types of sajna (Moringa oleifera Lam.) leaves at different maturity levels. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology,8(1): 6-11.
17. Marshall, Elaine and Newton, Andian C. 2003. Non-timber forest products in the community of EL Terrero, Sierra de Manantlan Biosphere Reserve, Mexico: Is their use sustainable? Economic Botany, 57(2): 262-278.
18. Mohammad Hayat et al. 2003. Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea; Ceraphronoidea) reared mainly from Coccoidea (Homoptera) attacking sandalwood, Santalum album L. Oriental Insects, 37: 309-334.
19. Monteuuis, Livier et al. 2003. A comparison of the field behaviour of ramets derived from a mature tree of Acacia mangium by tissue culture and the seedling progeny of the ortet. Australian Forestry, 66(2): 87-89.
20. Nagra, B.S. 2003. Incorporating technology concepts in plywood marketing-II. Ply Digest, 1(8): 19, 26.
21. Nelson, Deborah Imel. 2003. Health impact assessment of climate change in Bangladesh. Environment Impact Assessment Review, 23(3): 323-342.
22. Ohta, Tomoko. 2003. Origin of the neutral and nearly neutral theories of evolution. Journal of Biosciences, 28(4): 371-377.
23. Palaniraj, R. and Sati, S.C. 2003. Evaluation of of Artocarpus hirsute and Ficus elastica as renewable source of energy. Indian Journal of Agricultural Chemistry, 34(1): 23-28.
24. Parson, E.A. 2003. Protecting the ozone layer: Science and strategy. New York, Oxford University Press. 377p.
25. Prem Narain. 2003. Evolutionary genetics and statistical genomics of quantitative characters. Proceedings of The Indian National Science Academy: Biological Sciences, 69(3): 273-352.
26. Price, S.V. Ed. 2003 War and tropical forests: Conservation in areas of armed conflicts. Binghamton, Food Products Press. 219p.
27. Pramod Kant and Katwal, R.P.S. 2003. Redefining baseline for forestry projects under Clean Development Mechanism. Indian Forester, 129(6): 682-691.
28. Rahman, Mohd S. et al. 2003. Performance of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seedlings and micropropagated plantlets on an east Texas site I. Above – and belowground growth. Forest Ecology and Management, 178(3): 245-255.
29. Ramesh Singh, D.R. et al. 2003. Study of genetic improvement techniques of Terminalia chebula Retz. – An important multipurpose medicinal tree species of India. Indian Forester, 129(6): 154-168.
30. Roy, P.S. et al. 2003. Bio-diversity characterisation at landscape level using satellite remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS). My Forest, 39(2): 109-112.
31. Salmon, Guy. 2003. Towards a strategic vision for forestry: The environmental and social context. New Zealand Journal of Forestry, 48(2): 4,6-10.
32. Saucer, Thomas J. and Meek, David W. 2003. Spatial variation of plant-available phosphorus in pastures with contrasting management. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 67(3): 826-836.
33. Schjonning, P. et al. 2003 Managing soil quality: Challenges in modern agriculture. Wallingford, CABI. 368p.
34. Selvam, V. 2003. Environmental classification of mangrove wetlands of India. Current Science, 84(6): 757-765.
35. Sharma, Subodh K. et al. 2003. India’s initial national communication (NATCOM) to United Nations framework convention on climate change and the forestry sector. Indian Forester, 129(6): 673-681.
36. Singh, Seema and Joshi, K.C. 2003. Seed borers of important leguminous forest tree species of central India and their control. India Journal of Forestry, 26(1): 1-6.
37. Swingland, I.R. Ed. 2003. Capturing carbon and conserving biodiversity: The market approach. London, Earthscan. 368p.
38. Tartakovsky, Boris et al. 2003. Biodegradation of spent pulping liquor lignins under mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic conditions. TAPPI Journal, 2(4): 26-31.
39. Touyama, Yoshifumi. 2003. The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, in Japan: Assessment of impact on species diversity of ant communities in urban environments. Entomological Science, 6(2):57-62.
40. Viviroli, Daniel et al. 2003. Assessing the hydrological significance of the World’s mountains. Mountain Research and Development, 23(1): 32-40.
41. Wang, Yue and Hamilton, Fiona. 2003. Projecting stand attributes of regrowth ash eucalypts sampled in forest inventory. Australian Forestry, 66(2): 75-86.
42. Weyerhaeuser, George H. 2003. Biotechnology in forestry: The promise and the economic reality. TAAPI and PIMA Solutions, 86(10): 32-34.
43. Williams, R.A. and Heiligmann, R.B. 2003. Effects of site quality and season of clearcutting on upland hardwood forest composition 38 years after harvest. Forest Ecology and Management, 177(1-3): 1-10.
44. Wong, Brad T.D. and Green, Sheldon I. 2003. A novel device to measure pulp fibre hydrodynamics. TAPPI Journal, 2(3): 19-23.
Kareem's Thirty-two Acres Water Sponge
The pathetic situation of the hill slope, forced him to think about Kaavu - the
Sacred Grove that every village had once upon a time. In a spur of moment,
he bought five acres of land with a dried well. He was a man haunted by his
desire for a Kaavu. After about a year of helplessly watching his property, he
began to plant mature saplings of wild trees in spaces between laterite rocks.
During the summer he would fetch water in cans lashed to his motorbike from a
source a kilometre away. For decades his rocky spreads had produced nothing. As
his family watched in panic, Abdul Kareem bought 32 acres of a rocky slope. For
three summers, he nursed his plants with water ferried from afar. And then
nature sent him a feedback. "In the third year, when my plantation was but of
young adult trees, the water level in the well rose!" he says. That itself
seemed an end for him and he began to plant the whole extent in frenzy. He chose
a variety of plants plucked from the wild and let nature do the rest. He learnt
that one can enable nature, not direct it. Birds on his young plantations
started helping him by discharging variety of seeds of weeds, herbs and
medicinal plants; hare, fowl and other small game have colonized the forests.
Beehives, the size of a sack, are emerging. There was a dry inherited tank
on the land. Water levels in Kaliyanam, Varranjnyur and other villages within a
10 km radius rose. The once barren hill was now a water sponge, he can
pump 100,000 litres out of it at a go and the level will bounce back in a few
minutes. The forest is actually producing water. He believes that he got
nature's reward in the form of highly mineralised and herbalised water, the
fragrant air, the daily walks through the woods, a healthy life and enormous
peace. It is the time when Abdul Kareem has to strike a balance between
preserving his growing dream and his growing responsibilities as he had already
put all his money into this forest. Options like marketing of water, forest as
eco-destination, eco-school, etc. are many but resource is none. A helping hand
is really needed. | ||
