The lovely, dark and deep forest has been a source of attraction from time immemorial. The site and scenery of green forest have lured many poets and philosophers, environ- mentalists and nature-lovers. It is the treasure house of many precious natural resources of our country. Forest is a large area of land covered with trees and bushes growing thickly. It is a natural ecosystem full of rich variety of plants and animals. Besides colourful fauna and flora, it adds aesthetic value to the environment. It plays a significant role in the daily life of human beings. Due to its variety of importance, it is called the natural gift to mankind.
In the prehistoric times, the land areas were covered with forests. Early men were wandering in the dense forest in search of food, clothing and shelter. With the dawn of civilization, they cut down trees, cleared some part of the forests to live there in a better way. Population increased with the passage of time and more and more space was required for their habitations. As a result, major portion of the forest were cleared and there sprang up villages, cornfields, towns and cities.
Different kind of forests are found in our country depending on climatic and geographical conditions of the regions where they grow. Generally, five types of forests are found in India. These are (1) Tropical rain forest (2) Tropical deciduous forest, (3) Thorn forest in arid region (4) Tidal forest in the sea coast and (5) Coniferous forests in mountainous regions. Indian forests are also classified into three categories on the administrative point of view. These are (1) Reserved (2) Protected and (3) Unclassified. Most of the forests are owned by the government through the means of forest department.
Forests are regulative, productive and protective in nature according to the classification of their functions. They are regulative because they help in absorption, storage and release of gases, water minerals and radiant energy of the sun. Floods, droughts, global biochemical cycles are regulated by them. Forests are productive because they produce sal, timber, teak, food, resins, oil, latex and pharmaceuticals. They are protective in nature because they protect conservation of soil, water, wild animals and birds. They also protect us from flood, drought and radiation of sun.
The most important ecological function of forest is that they make the life of plants and animals possible on the earth. Green leaves of trees absorb carbon dioxide from air. In the presence of sunlight, they prepare their food and give out oxygen into the air which we breathe in and live. Besides this, forest causes transpiration that leads to the formation of water cycle which subsequently makes clouds and rain. This transpiration also maintains humidity in the air. Forest also reduces the pace of soil erosion and helps in conservation of soil.
Forest resources are significant to the human society in different ways. Forests are now being utilized commercially by the people. They provide us firewood, plywood, fruits, wood for railway sleepers and raw materials for paper and pulp. At present, papers of different types are very much essential for education and press, trade and commerce, official and banking transactions. Besides this, rayon, synthetic rubber, cellophane, photographic film, honey, ivory, tea, coffee, gum etc. are the products of the forests. Some tribal people collect these forest products, sell them in the local market and earn their livelihood. Forest is also a rich source of medicinal plants such as cinchona, cocaine, curare, ergotamine, yew trees etc. which are very helpful for the cure of painful diseases like malaria, migraine, cancer and jaundice and other dreaded diseases.
Thus, forests are filled with rich resources which provide many valuable products to mankind. But in recent time, forests are getting depleted due to rapid industrialization, population explosion, increasing urbanization, climatic change, forest fire and conversion of waste lands into agricultural lands. At present, forests cover 1/3 of the world’s total land surface. The U.N.O. has recommended that every nation should have 33% area under forest. But the sad fact is that 19.5% of the land areas in India are now covered with forests. Hence, conservation of forests is the utmost need of the day.
Different commendable steps have been taken by the government earlier to stop the cutting of trees in the forests. The National Forest Policy of 1952, the Forests Conservation Act of 1980 and the National Waste Land Development Board established in 1985 are praiseworthy. Vana Mahotsava festival and Chipko movement promotes afforestation through direct participation of people. Everybody has realized that forest is essential to prevent the problems like air pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, green house effect, land slides etc. Hence, let us march forward with this noble mission to save the mankind from impending disasters and make the environment green and beautiful.