In India, forest and wildlife resources are owned and managed by the government through the Forest Department or other government departments. Many of these forests and wildlife species are considered to be National Heritage and may not be traded in any form.
The flora, fauna and habitats of different areas is listed for protection under named Protected Areas (PAs). These are classified under the following categories.
- Reserved Forests: More than half of the total forest land in India has been declared reserved forests.
- Protected Forests: Forest Department has declared one-third of the total forest area as protected forest.
- Unclassed Forests: These are the forests and wastelands which belong to both government and private individuals and communities. North-eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high percentage of their forests as unclassed forests. Reserved and protected forests are also referred to as permanent forests, which are maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forest produce, and for protective reasons. Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests.
