Community and Conservation – Geography

The forest is one of the most important natural resources that helps our survival. These forests are being destroyed at a fast pace due to various reasons.

Some of the reasons are cutting trees, mining, hunting of wild animals on large scale etc. We have to take some steps to save the forest for our survival. Conservation is possible only when we together can stop all these illegal activities on large scale.

1. In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act.
2. The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 hectares of forest as the Bhairodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri’ Villages came up with their own set of rules and regulations which do not allow hunting. They are also protecting the wildlife against any outside encroachments.
3. The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas was one successful attempt to resist deforestation in several areas. The movement has also resulted in community afforestation.
4. Farmers and citizen’s groups like the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya have shown that adequate levels of diversified crop production without the use of synthetic chemicals are possible and economically viable.
5. India joint forest management (JFM) programme furnishes a good example for involving local communities in the management and restoration of degraded forests.