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Overview
India
is the seventh largest country in the world-- with a
population of over 900 million. 75 percent of Indians
live in rural areas, depending upon the natural resources
for their livelihoods, medicine, housing materials and
often, food. Forests now cover about 12 million hectares-only
about 1/3 of India's once vast standing forests. Despite
their decline, India's forests are home to remarkable
plant and animal biodiversity. As one of the 17 "megadiversity"
countries (see text box), India can boast of bamboo,
Bidi leaves, Strobilanthes, Selaginella, Bombax ceiba,
Sarusja tiger, Asiatic lion, rhinoceroses, and Golden
Langur.
Threats
to the Forests
India is faced with a number of social, economic,
and ecological issues which pose an enormous challenge
to sustainable natural resource management--including
extreme poverty, deforestation and land degradation
caused by commercial logging, cattle grazing, exploitation
of non-timber forest products and uncontrolled fires,
as well as a scarcity of potable drinking water and
unhealthy air quality in many cities and town. All natural
resources-including land, forests, water, and biodiversity--are
under immense pressure. India's remaining forests include
some 80 national parks and around 450 wildlife sanctuaries-home
to panthers, wild boar, mongoose, Sambar, Adina cardifolia,
Tectona grandis, and Euphorbia.
Potential Tools to Combat Degradation
Community management of natural resources has been an
important strategy in India since it was piloted there
in the 1960's. In fact, India is one of the most important
models of successful joint forest management in the
world. Under this system, national governments decentralize
control of forests and turn it over to villagers who
take over the responsibility for forest and water use
and protection. Despite some problems, the system has
helped the country with its land management challenges
for over thirty years.
India has a strong scientific community working on energy
issues as well as natural resources conservation. Continued
collaboration among government, development agencies,
non-profit organizations, universities, and community
groups is needed to make progress towards improving
the quality of life both in rural and urban areas, while
protecting the forests and their unique biodiversity.
Why does the USDA Forest Service Work in India?
India is an important player in the Asian-Pacific
region-as the world's largest democracy, it serves as
a model for many other developing nations. Its pioneering
work in community forestry has inspired others, both
neighboring Nepal and the U.S., to reconsider how forest
management systems succeed with genuine local control.
Furthermore, the very high animal and plant biodiversity
make India a high priority for managing the remaining
forests sustainably, since they are home to these unique
species.
Overview of the United States-India Collaboration
Over the past 40 years, the USDA
Forest Service has been involved with numerous research,
training and management projects in India. Currently,
Agency personnel are working with staff from the Wildlife
Institute of India and the Indira Gandhi National Forest
Academy to develop international workshops on the theme
of integrated forest planning and management for conservation
of biological diversity in India. These groups are also
working together in four study sites in India--Satpura
National Park (M.P.), Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary (T.N.),
Dudwa National Park (U.P.), Balphakrarn National Park
& adjoining Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and Notrek National
Park (Meghalaya)--to identify diverse species, communities,
and habitats and evaluate the impacts of forestry practices
and use on forest diversity.
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Past Programs in India: Sustainable Forestry Practices
The most recent completed work in India
was done in the area of forest management for biodiversity
and forest productivity. Agency personnel worked with
staff from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Indira
Gandhi National Forest Academy to develop international
workshops on the theme of integrated forest planning
and management for conservation of biological diversity
in India. These groups also worked together in four
study sited in India - Satpura National Park (M.P.),
Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary (T.N.), Dudwa National Park
(U.P.), Balphakram National Park and adjoining Siju
Wildlife Sanctuary and Notrek National Park (Meghalaya)
- to identify diverse species, communities, and habitats
and evaluate the impact of forestry practices and use
on forest diversity.
For
further information about this completed project, please
click on the following
link.
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