Humans are part of a complex ecological system that supports all life on Earth. This system includes plants, animals, and microorganisms that maintain the quality of the air, water, and soil that humans depend on. Forests play a key role as primary producers that many other living beings rely on. Deforestation damages habitats and causes populations of plants and animals to decline or go extinct by removing forests without replanting trees. Historically, British exploitation of Indian resources for agriculture, mining, railways and roads contributed to deforestation, which continued increasing as the population grew after independence.

3. •We share this planet with millions of other living beings, starting from micro-
organisms and bacteria, lichens to banyan trees, elephants and blue whales. This
entire habitat that we live in has immense biodiversity. We humans along with all
living organisms from a complex web of ecological system in which we are only a
part and very much depend on this system for our own existence.
•For example the plants, animals and micro-organisms re-create the quality of the
air we breath, The water we drink and the soil that produces are food without
which we cannot survive.
•Forests play a key role in the ecological system as these are also the primary
produces on which all other living being depend.

4. Flora and fauna refer to plant and wildlife, respectively. The term is often used to
refer to the indigenous plant and wildlife of a geographical region. Both are
collective terms, referring to groups of plant or wildlife specific to a region or a
time period. For example, the flora and fauna of a warm region may consist of
tropical to warm-temperate vegetation and exotic species of birds.
The flora and fauna of any given region are usually explained in biological terms
to include the genus and species of plant and animal life, their preferred growing
or breeding habits, and their connection to one another in the environment as well.
In addition to geographical groupings, environment also helps further their
classification. For example, aquatic flora and fauna of a region refers to the plant
and animal life found in the waters in or surrounding a geographic region.

5. In botany, flora has two meanings.
The first meaning refers to all plant life in
an area or time period.
The second meaning refers to a book or
other work which describes
the plant species in an area or time period,
with the aim of allowing identification.
The term flora comes
from Latin language Flora,
the goddess of flowers in Roman
mythology. The corresponding term
for animal life is fauna.
Plants are grouped into floras based on
region, period, special environment, or
climate. Regions can be geographically
distinct habitats like mountain vs. flatland.
Floras can mean plant life of an historic era
as in fossil flora.

6. Fauna is all of the animal life of any
particular region or time. The
corresponding term
for plants is flora. Flora, fauna and
other forms of life such as fungi are
collectively referred to as biota.
Zoologists and paleontologists use f
auna to refer to a typical collection
of animals found in a specific time
or place, e.g. the "Sonoran
Desert fauna" or the "Burgess
Shale fauna".

7. Deforestation is when forests are lost and not replanted. Sometimes deforestation
happens when people change the land into farms, ranches and cities. A lot of
deforestation is from removal of all the trees from a forest for wood or fuel.
Without the forest, the habitats of the animals are lost and many animals die. It
also results inglobal warming.
The opposite of deforestation is afforestation.

8. Normal Species: Their population levels are normal for their survival.
E.g. Cattle, rodents etc.
Endangered Species: They are in danger of extinction as their population is fast
dwindling.
E.g. Black buck, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion, crocodile etc.
Vulnerable Species: Their population has decreased to the level of being
endangered in the near future.
E.g. Asiatic elephant, blue sheep, Gangetic dolphin etc.
Rare Species: Species those are very small in number. May become endangered or
vulnerable in future.
E.g. Hornbill, Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox etc.
Endemic Species: The species that are found only in a particular region and are
isolated by natural barriers are called endemic species.
E.g. Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig etc.
Extinct Species: These species no longer exist on Earth.
E.g. Asiatic cheetah, pink head duck etc.

13. Impact of human beings in transforming nature into a store house of forest and
animal resource such as wood, leaves, fodder, fuel wood, barks, rubber, dyes,
organic manure and medicinal plants on one hand and animal skin, hair, hide, milk
(dairy farm) meat, animals used in agricultural and transport activities.
One of the historical factors causing damage to our forest resource was during
British time when they started expanding commercial agriculture, mining activity,
railways and roadways to exploit Indian resources. It continued to expand even
after independence as our population grew over a period of time.
Data given shows the zone. Between 1951 and 1980, according to the forest survey
of India, over 26,200 sq. km of forest area was converted into agricultural land all
over India. Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the north-eastern and
central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation, a type of
slash and burn agriculture.

14. Tribal WOMEN using bamboo saplings in a
nursery at Mukhali near Salient Valley
Tribal women selling minor forest
produce
Leaf litter collection by women folk