(I) Communities have conserved and protected forests and wildlife in India. This can be seen through the following points
(i) The Chipko Movement which was conducted in the Himalayas, has successfully resisted deforestation in several areas. It showed community afforestation with indigenous species to be successful.
(ii) The Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri district of Utarakhand conserved local seed diversity and forests, while defending small farmers and promoting traditional agriculture and knowledge systems.
(iii) In the Sariska wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining activities taking place nearby by citing the Wildlife Protection Act.
(II) Conservation of forest and wildlife was prevalent as nature worship is common among tribal communities and in villages e.g. tulsi plants and banana leaves. Such cultural beliefs helped preserve the plant and animal species. Large-scale people's movement like che Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand and the Narmada Bachao Andolan in Madhya Pradesh indicate involvement of local communities in conserving forests and wildlife.
Thus, all conservation practices and programmes should be eco-friendly, people friendly and economically acceptable.
Developmental projects undertaken by the government should not be at the cost of destruction of forests and loss of people's livelihoods

(i) The major threats to tiger population are numerous, such as poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population, etc. The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in the Asian countries left the tiger population on the verge of extinction
(ii) Some of the tiger reserves of India are Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala.

The Indian citizens must have explained to Mr. Y from America that forests in India have been divided into three classes out of which reserved forests are completely prohibited from any activities while protected forests allow certain activities.
Four points of differences between a reserved and a protected forests are as follows

Methods of forest conservation adopted by the Government of India are
(i) The Government of India has implemented the Indian Wildlife (protection) Act in 1972 for conservation of wildlife and forests.
(ii) The government has classified forests into three categories such as reserved forests, protected forests and unclassed forests. Out of these forests two categories, the 'Reserved' and the 'Protected' forests have been restricted for use.
(iii) The government has started Joint Forest Management OFM) programmes involving local communities in management and restoration of degraded forests.
(iv) The Central and many State Governments established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves to protect forest and wildlife of India

Conservation of forest and wildlife was prevalent as nature worship is common among tribal communities and in villages e.g. tulsi plants and banana leaves. Such cultural beliefs helped preserve the plant and animal species. Large-scale people's movement like che Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand and the Narmada Bachao Andolan in Madhya Pradesh indicate involvement of local communities in conserving forests and wildlife.
Thus, all conservation practices and programmes should be eco-friendly, people friendly and economically acceptable.
Developmental projects undertaken by the government should not be at the cost of destruction of forests and loss of people's livelihoods

(i) Colonial Forest Policy is being blamed for promoting 'enrichment plantation' which in the course of time eliminates native precious species.
(ii) The extract tells us that environment conservation was a traditional practice in India society. It is mixed in our cultural norms and beliefs.
(iii) It is essential to conserve the trees as human beings receive many products from trees and their conservation is a way to return that kindness.

(i) The forest dependent Communities directly depend on various components of the forest and wildlife for food, drink, medicine, culture, spirituality etc.
(ii) Within the poor, women are affected more than men.
(iii) In many societies, women have the major responsibility of collection of fuel, fodder, water and other basic subsistence needs.
(iv) As these resources are depleted, the drudgery of women increases and sometimes they have to walk for more than 10 km to collect these resources.
(v) This causes serious health problems for women and negligence of home and children.
(vi) Due to increased hours of work, there are many serious social implications.
(vii) The indirect impact of degradation such as severe drought or deforestation induced floods, etc. also hits the poor hardest.
(viii) Poverty in these cases is a direct outcome of environmental destruction.

(i) Himalayan Yew is a medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
(ii) A chemical compound called 'taxol' is extracted from the bark, needles, twigs and roots of this tree.
(iii) This has been successfully used to treat some cancers.
(iv) The drug is now the biggest selling anti-cancer drug in the world.
(v) The spices is under great threat due to over-exploitation.
(vi) In the last one decade, thousands of yew trees have dried up in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.

(i) In the name of enrichment plantation, the promotion of a few favoured species, in many parts of India, has been carried.
(ii) In enrichment plantation, a single commercially valuable species was extensively planted and other species eliminated.
(iii) For example, teak manufacturer has damaged the natural forests in South India.
(iv) Chir Pine plantations in the Himalayas have replaced the Himalayan oak and Rhododendron forests.
(v) During the colonial period, the greatest damage was inflicted on Indian forests due to the expansion of the railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry and mining activities.

(a) The members of the local communities were involved the management and restoration of degraded forests.
(b) The members of these communities are entitled to intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produces and share in the timber harvested by 'successful protection'.

(i) It was initiated in 1973.
(ii) Tiger population has dwindled to about 1800 from 55000 in the early 20^th century.
(iii) The main reasons for decline in the number of tigers include,
(a) Poaching for trade in tiger skin
(b) Shrinking habitat
(c) Depletion of prey species
(d) Growing human population

(a) Over-exploitation of natural resources for meeting human needs - Himalayan Yew, a medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. A chemical compound called 'taxol' is extracted from the bark, needles, twigs and roots of this tree and has been used to treat some cancers. The species is under great threat due to over-exploitation.
(b) Large scale hunting of animals for their skin and other products such as antlers and fur.
(c) Deforestation - Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the northeastern and central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation (jhum), a type of 'slash and burn' agriculture.

Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), we can classify as follows -
(a) Normal Species: Their population levels are normal for their survival. E.g. Cattle, sal, pine, rodents, etc.
(b) Endangered Species: They are in danger of extinction as their population is fast dwindling. E.g. Black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, sangai (brow-antlered in Manipur), etc.
(c) Vulnerable Species: Their population has decreased to the level into endangered category in the near future. E.g. Asiatic elephant, blue sheep, Gangetic dolphin etc.
(d) Rare Species: Species those are very small in number which may become endangered or vulnerable in future. E.g. Hornbill, Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox etc.
(e) 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.
(f) Extinct Species: These species no longer exist on Earth. The species may be extinct from a local area, region, country, continent or the whole earth. E.g. Asiatic cheetah, pink headed duck etc.

(a) Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Kerala, Tail Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra have large percentage of reserved forests.
(b) Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests - 75%
(c) Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, and Rajasthan have the large areas of protected forests.
(d) All north-eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high % of unclassed forests.

Direct effects:
i. Many tribal communities or forest dependent communities are impoverished due to the destruction of forests and wildlife.
ii. Many species of plants and animals became endangered or extinct.
Indirect effects:
i. It destroyed the ecological balance.
ii. It leads to severe droughts in some parts and floods in other areas.
iii. It affected the health of women and negligence of home and children because of their increased hours of work to collect their requirements.