Home > Geospatial Application Papers > Natural Resource Management > Forestry
Abstract | Full Paper | PDF | Printer Friendly Format

Page 2 of 5
| Previous | Next |


GIS Applications in Forest Resource Management Prospects & Potentials


III.Present Status of FRM
At present in many states and forest divisions the management of forests in carried out as per the prescriptions of the Working Plan (WP) prepared for that area.

1.What is a WP?
A WP is a comprehensive document aimed at achieving continuity in the management and development of forest resources within the overall framework of National Forest Policy, 1988.

WP thus prepared and approved by the competent authority remains in force for a period of 10 years. Any deviation in the management of the forest resources of the area is to be approved by the competent authority and only then the deviation can be carried out.

2.Present Working:
Even though there is a provision for regular preparation of WP for a forest area but in actual practice in many states and forest divisions this is not being done regularly. Even when the preparation of WP is done regularly there is a tendency to adopt incoherent ad hoc management of forests. Many WP even suffer from the following deficiencies:
  1. Faulty assessment of forest crop, growth statistics, regeneration status, etc.
  2. Lacking long-term prescriptions in the overall interest of the sustainable development of forests in particular and environment in general.
  3. Don’t take into consideration various new management practices.
  4. WP preparation is done as a routine exercise and when it comes to its implementation it is seldom taken into consideration.
  5. Ad hoc deviations are made in the management of forests without seeking approvals from the competent authority.
IV.An Integrated Approach for FRM
FRM not only affects the local area but it also affects globally and at the same time the gestation period of many forestry species is quite long and damages once done cannot be rectified over a small period of time. Thus in order to achieve the above mentioned objectives of FRM a comprehensive well thought of and prepared document, let’s call it WP, is required to address the issues mentioned earlier. The National Forest Policy, 1988 has emphasized the necessity of preparation of WP and adhering to it for the conservation and management of forests. Thus there is an urgent need to make two fold efforts for the proper management of forest resources:
  1. Infusion of new management practices based on forest science.
  2. Infusion of modern technology in FRM.
1.Infusion of New Management Practices Based on Forest Science:
It is suggested that the preparation of WP should consists of various stages as enunciated below:
  1. Collection of basic information about forest such as: extent of forest areas, impact of past management practices, plantations’ details, status of forest and revenue villages, production of forest produce, and problems encountered in regard to management and protection of forests including fires, grazing and encroachments, etc.
  2. Preparation of First Preliminary WP Report (PWR)as a framework suggesting methodology for collection and analysis of information and suggestions for changes or modification of certain management practices in order to achieve more effective results.
  3. Field works including surveys and mapping such as:
    1. Forest resources survey i.e. enumeration of forest species and bamboo.
    2. Bamboo enumeration.
    3. Stock maps showing forest type, density, age class, site quality, regeneration status, and root-stock.
    4. Plantation survey to compare the growth achieved with the projected growth and ascertaining the reasons of variation and to assess the effectiveness of various forestry operations.
    5. Forest soil resources survey and inventory preparation.
    6. Socio-economic survey including assessment of joint forest management, demand-supply gap for forest produce, and availability of community/private land for tree planting.
    7. Stump and stem analysis for preparing graphs showing relationship between the diameter and age, height and age, and volume and age of important species. This along with enumeration of the crop can be used for assessing the growing stock of the forest.
    8. Estimation of non-timber forest produce (NTFP).
    9. Assessment of status of biodiversity and wildlife conservation including habitat, waterholes, saltlicks, etc.
    10. Preparation of forest compartment history including details of area, crop, regeneration, forestry operations, fire, illicit-felling, grazing etc.
  4. Preparation of Second PWR
    which will mention the characteristics of the forest, effect of past management practices, present needs and objective and proposed management.
  5. Preparation of WP
    will include documenting details about the forest, locality factor, growth and yield statistics, result of previous management, demand and supply of forest produce, objectives of management, prescription for forest and wildlife management practices, implementation strategies including financial implications, monitoring & evaluation parameters, and statistics related to growth and yield of prominent species.

    Maps should be an integral part of WP. Various maps which are needed are: stock map (1: 25,000 or 1:15,000), management map (1:50,000), volume map (1:50,000), soil map (1:2,50,000), and index map of forest division (1:2,50,000).
  6. Approval of WP by the Competent Authority
    WP once approved by the concerned State Government and the regional office of the Ministry of Environment & Forests should become a legal document and it should remain in force for 10 years.
  7. Implementation of WP i.e. FRM
    There is a need to make the implementation agency aware of the provisions of the WP. Regular workshops should be organized and feedbacks must be obtained. Adequate finances must be made available for carrying out the prescriptions.
  8. Monitoring & evaluation of FRM
    will be needed for deriving the benefits of this exercise. There is a need to identify physical indicators for each major issue such as site, vegetation, and productivity.
  9. Feed back and readjustment
    At present the WP is revised only after a period of 10 years and there is no provision for mid-term review. This needs to be built in so that the system of management can be readjusted timely, if the need arises.
Page 2 of 5
| Previous | Next |