2. Forests
• Forests are natural ecosystems having trees of different species and vegetation of
different kinds and providing habitat to different species of animals.
Forests are very useful for us-
1. They maintain the fertility of the soil.
2. · They provide us with paper; wood for desks, tables and other
furniture; dies, spices, gum, honey, coffee, oil, medicinal herbs
rubber, timber.
3 They provide bamboo wood for fuel, grass, charcoal, packaging,
fruits, flowers .
4· They provide shelter and habitat for animals.
3. Deforestation
• Deforestation is the disappearance of forests due to
cutting down of trees on an extensive scale. It is not
a recent problem. The process began many centuries
ago; but under colonial rule it become more
systematic and extensive.
4. Deforestation under british
• The British needed to clear the forests because of the
following reasons:
• · They needed food grains to feed the growing European
population.
• They cut forests and encouraged production of
commercial crops – jute, sugar, wheat, cotton.
• · They needed area to cultivate raw materials- cotton for industrial
production.
• · They thought that forests were unproductive, just wilderness
which had to be brought under cultivation to yield agricultural
products.
5. • · By the early 19thcentury, oak forests in England were disappearing
creating a problem for timber supply used for the English ships of
the Royal Navy. For this Indian forests were felled and the timber
was exported.
• · The Railways also spread from 1950s creating a new demand for
wood – to be used as fuel and timber – to lay railways line and
sleepers essential to hold the tracks together.
• · Forests were also cleared to make way for tea, coffee and rubber
plantations to meet Europe’s growing need for these commodities.
• The colonial government gave vast forest areas to European
planters at cheap rates to clear forest and plant tea or coffee.
• In ‘scientific forestry’ forests were cut and one type of trees were
planted in straight rows
6. Commercial forestry
• Commercial forestry is the use of forest products for
commercial purposes. It led to deterioration of forests due to
over usage
7. Brandis
• Dietrich Brandis was a German expert called by the British for
advice. The British were worried that local people are
destroying forests. Dietrich Brandis was made the First
Inspector General of Forests in India.
• Brandis realized that a proper system had to be introduced to
manage forests and people had to be trained in the science of
conservation.
· This system would need legal sanctions
· Rules about the use of forest resources had to be framed.
· Felling of trees and grazing had to be restricted to preserve
forests for timber production.· Anybody cutting trees without
following the system had to be punished.
8. · Brandis set up the Indian Forest Service in 1864 and
helped formulate the Indian Forest Act of 1865.
· The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up at
Dehradun in 1906 where ‘Scientific forestery’ was taught.
· The Forest At was ammended twice in 1878 and 1927.
· The 1878 Act divided forests into reserved, protected and
village forests.
9. Scientific forestry
• In Scientific Forestry, natural forests having lots of different
types of trees were cut down. Instead, one type of tree was
planted in straight rows – plantations. Forest officials surveyed
the forests, estimated the area under different types of trees
and made working plans for forest management. They
planned how much area to cut every year. The cut area was
then to be replanted so that it was ready to be cut again in
some years.
10. Indian forest Act
• The Indian Forest Act was formulated by Dietrich Brands in 1865.
• · It encouraged scientific forestry – A system of cutting trees
controlled by the forest department in which old trees are cut and
new ones planted.
• · The act was ammended twice, once in 1878 and then in 1927.
• · The 1878 Act divided forests into three categories – reserved,
protected and village forests.· ‘Reserved forests’ were the best
forests from where villages could not takes anything, even for their
own use.
• In protected forests some villagers could enter as the rules were not
so strict there.
• The ‘village forests’ were for the villagers’ use from where they
could take wood for house building or fuels. But actually these
forests were of no use, they just had thorns and scrubs.
11. Impact of changes
• It had drastic changes on lifestyle of people-
• Shifting Cultivators:
After the government decided to ban shifting cultivation, many
communities were forcibly displaced from their homes in forests.
Some had to change occupations while some resisted through large
and small rebellions.
• · Nomadic and pastoralist communities –
The British restricted grazing and hunting by local people. In the
process, many pastoralist and nomadic communities like Korava,
Karacha and yerukala of the Madras presidency lost their
livelihoods. They were forced to work instead in factories, mines
and plantations under government supervision
12. • .· Firms trading in timber / forest product –
With the coming of the British ,however ,trade was completely regulated by
the government. The British government gave many large European
trading firms the sole right to trade in forest products ofparticular areas.
Now they had huge profits.
• · Plantation owners:
The colonial government took over forests, gave vast areas to European
planters at cheap rates. The owners now had greater profits because of
vast areas of lands. They exploited the Indian workers greatly who worked
with very low wages and very bad work conditions.
• · Kings / British officials engaged in Shikar-
While the forest laws deprived people of their customary rights to hunt,
hunting of big game became a sport. The scale of hunting increased
rapidly. The Maharja of Sarguja alone shot 1, 157 tigers and 2000 leopards
up to 1957. A British administrator- George Yule, killed 400 tigers.
13. Rebellion of Bastar
• Bastar is located in the southern most part of Chhattisgarh
and borders Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashra. A
number of different communities live there such as Marias
and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras and Halbas.
• Problems faced by the people:
· When the colonial government proposed to reserve 2/3 of its
forests, stop shifting cultivation, hunting and collection of
forest produce, the people were very worried. People were
displaced without any notice or compensation. For long,
villagers had been suffering from increased land rents and
frequent demand for free labour.· Then came the terrible
famines in 1899 – 1980 and again in 1907-08.
14. • · Revolt by the people:
· These issues were widely discussed to start revolting against the
colonial government.
· Gunda Dhur, from the village Nethaner emerged as ‘an important
leader.· Bazaars were looted, the houses of officials and traders,
schools and police stations were burnt and robbed.
· To all this, the British sent troops to suppress the rebellion. Theadivasi
leaders tried to negotiate, out the British surrounded their camps
and fired.
• · Result:
· In a major victory for the rebels, work on reservation was temporarily
suspended, and the area to be reserved was reduced to roughly
half of that planned before 1910.
15. Java
• In the 19thcentury, when it became important to control territory and not
just people, the colonial government of Java i.e. the Dutch enacted forest
laws restricting villagers access to villagers.
• Problems faced by the people:
Now wood could only be cut for specified purposes and only from specific
forests under close supervision.· Villagers were punished for grazing called
in young stands, transporting wood in travelling on forest roads with horse
carts or cattle.
• · Revolt:
· Around 1890, Surantiko Samin of Randublatung village, a teak forest village,
began questioning state ownership of forest.He argued that the state
hadn’t created wind, water, earth, and wood. It could not own it.
Soon a widespread movement developmed. Samin’s sons –inlaw helped it
organize. By 1907, 3000 families were following his ideas.They protested
by lying down on their land when the dutch came to survey it, while the
others refused to pay taxes or fines or perform labour.
16. Forest and War
• To win a war, each country wants its Navy to be the strongest
(especially the European). Ships are built on a large scale
which requires a lot of timber which is strong and durable. So,
forest trees are cut indiscriminately. Also scientific forestry is
practiced which again destroys forests.
• · The countries losing the war who have to retreat back
destroy all their resources preventing them from getting into
enemy’s hands (as in the case of java), the Japanese burnt
huge piles of giant teak logs and the forest resources were all
wasted
