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The South Asian scenario
GIS Development Staff
Forest resources all
over the world are deteriorating as a result of the material progress at the
cost of ecology —the developing countries of South Asia are also on the same
boat.
Forest is the most valuable renewable
resource of the 'biodiversity' as the plants basically support the
survival of each and every member of the biome. But unfortunately we have
overlooked the aspect of degrading trend of the forest resources all over the
world; conciousness grew up when we realised that we are trapped by a crisis
caused by our own development plans for the material progress at the cost of
ecology. In the late 20thcentury,
eco-conciousness, for the first time, found a place in people’s mind. It is
already too late to think about green covers surrounding us, still there is a
hope if we balanced our economy properly with ecology. The crisis scenario
varies from one country to another. This article aims to give an overview of the
situation prevailing in the South Asian countries, which consist of remarkable
variety of plants but yet to be conserved to make a proper eco-friendly
environment.
Bangladesh
With a great population pressure,
Bangladesh consists of an underdeveloped economy as a whole, where the forests
are subject to heavy demand pressures in terms of both wood production and
competing landuses. But this country has relatively low proportion of forest
cover. The forests are of three main types : (a) mangrove forests in the coastal
delta, (b) hill forests in the interior, (c) a smaller area of inland sal
(Shorea robusta) forest. An estimated 80 percent of wood production of
Bangladesh is used for fuel, most of the reminder is converted to sawnwood. Significant areas of both hill forest
plantations and mangrove plantations have been established. A number of
protected areas are under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department, though most
of these have been degraded by illegal logging and forest clearing. In 1994
Bangladesh approved a new forest policy incorporating the concept of
participatory forest management for the first time.
Bhutan
Situated in the
eastern Himalayas, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country with some of
the most rugged and mountainous terrain in the world. Over two-thirds of the
country is forested where Fir forests, mixed coniferous, Chir pine (Pinus
roxburghii) and broad-leaved forests predominate. There is a negligible area
under plantation forest. A relatively high proportion of forests are under
protected areas and much of the forest which is legally available for wood
supply is undisturbed by harvesting. Since 1965, there has been a great increase
in the amount of reforestation in Bhutan, accounting for 1,000 ha. reforested
annually. The government policy specifies that 60 percent of the country’s land
area should remain under forest. The country enacted the Forest and Natural
Conservation Act in 1995 and approved its revised social forestry rules in 1996.
A proportion of log and processed production was exported previously, but now
the exports of logs and sawnwood from Bhutan are banned.
Maldives
The Republic of
Maldives is actually a coral archipelago with 1190 islands in the Indian Ocean.
Forests and woodland cover approximately 3 per cent of Maldives. Although there
is no distinct forest in the islands, wood and tree products (predominantly
coconut) are used as raw materials for boat and house building, fuelwood,
fencing, foods and medicines. In Maldives all lands belong to the state. The
government has recently stressed the importance of forest cover and encouraged
tree planting on the islands. The most notable feature is that Maldives has
launched a programme to plant 2 million trees partly to support timber
production and also to minimise impacts of woodland degradation.
India
The forest
resource is large in volume and diverse in character. On the other hand, the
excess population pressure intensifies the demand of forest and forest products
side by side. Nearly 23 percent of the total land area is classified as forest
land, 4 per cent of which is protected. The forest types vary from tropical
rainforest in north-east India, to desert and thorn forests in the western part
covering Gujarat and Rajasthan; mangrove forests in Orissa, West Bengal and
other coastal areas and dry alpine forests in the western Himalaya. Among them
the most common forest types are tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical dry
deciduous forests and wet tropical evergreen forests. India has established more
than 12 million hectares of forest plantations, mainly for fuelwood purposes.
Line planting along roads, canals and railways is also a very important wood
source in India. The country has a large network of protected areas which
include 80 national parks and around 450 wildlife sanctuaries. Annually 138,000
ha. of land is reforested. Commercial forestry is restricted in the northern
highlands. The government of India approved an order in 1990 to encourage joint
forest management in the degraded forest areas. Now 22 states including three
states of the Western Himalayas ( Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, U.P.)
and other three states of the North-eastern Himalayas (Tripura, Arunachal
Pradesh and Nagaland) have approved enabling government orders.
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