Five major reasons which are responsible for depletion of flora and fauna in India are as follows
(i) Agricultural expansion 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 the India which led to depletion of forests.
(ii) Mining It is another major factor behind deforestation. e.g. dolomite mining has seriously threatened the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal This ongoing mining has disturbed the natural habitat and blocked the migration route of great Indian elephant
(iii) Large-scale development projects Since 1951, over 5000 sq km of forest cleared for River Valley Projects. Narmada Sagar Projects in Madhya Pradesh has inundated 40,000 hectare of forests.
(iv) Rapidly expanding industrial-urban economy Increasing consumption of forest based products such as rubber, medicines, dyes, fuel wood has increased the depletion of forest resources.
(v) Over population In the third world countries it is often regarded as the cause of environmental degradation. However, an average American Consumed 40 times more resources than an average Somalian. Similarly, 5 per cent richest Indians cause more ecological damage than poorest 25 per cent

(a) An Indian Wildlife Act was passed in 1972 for conservation of biodiversity of India.
(b) It contains a list of protected species in the country.
(c) It imposed ban on hunting.
(d) It established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries throughout the country.
(e) It restricted trade on wildlife.
(f) Legal protection was provided to the habitats of endangered species including the tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles - fresh water crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the Gharial, the Asiatic lion,
(g) The Indian elephant, black buck, the great Indian bustard and the snow leopard, etc. have been given legal protection against hunting and trade through India.
(h) Projects such as Project Tiger, Project Elephant etc. that were specific to a particular species were formulated.

(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

Humans are dependent on the ecological system because they are part of this system. This can be understood through the following points
(i) Humans breathe air, drink water and grow crops in soil which are the non-living components of the ecological system.
(ii) The living components like plants, animals and micro-organisms recreate the quality of the air humans breathe, the water humans drink and the soil that produces humans food. Without these elements human beings cannot survive.
(iii) Human beings are dependent on both living and non-living components of the ecological existence.

(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.

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.

Tribes are much eco-sensitive. The tribes worship and protect forest and ecology whereas modern people exploit the forests and ecology insensitively for their commercial purposes.

No, Indian society has traditional methods of conservation of nature and culturally adopted suitability. Indian method of nature conservation rely on prevention rather than modern methods of remedy.

Tiger, one-horned rhinoceros, Kashmir stag, some crocodiles, Asiatic lion, Indian elephant, blackbuck, the great Indian bustard and snow leopard etc are some wildlife who are given legal protection in India.

Yes, now it is observed that Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal is threatened by the dolomite mining in the surrounding areas of that reserve.

National park has well-defined boundary and human interference is restricted and regulations are stringent. But wildlife sanctuary have no defined boundary and limited human activities are permitted in it.

The major drawback of the report is that it does not differentiate between natural forests and plantations. So, it fails to deliver accurate information about actual loss of natural forests.

The India State of Forest Report is published twice a year by the Ministry of Forestry, analysing the status of forests and tree cover in India.

The famous Chipko movement in the Himalayas has successfully resisted deforestation in several areas. It has shown that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful. Attempts to revive the traditional conservation methods or developing new methods of ecological farming are now widespread.

The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1200 hectares of forest as 'Bhairodev Dakav Sonchuri' declaring their own set of rules and regulations. Accordingly, they do not allow hunting and are protecting the wildlife against any outsider.

The unclassed forests are the forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities. All north eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high percentage of this type of forests.

Reserved and protected forests are referred to as permanent forests. There are maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forests produce. Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests, around 75 percent of its total forest area.

The tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or hangul, three types of crocodiles - freshwater crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the Gharial, the Asiatic lion, and others are being protected by the Central Government through various projects.

Habitat destruction, hunting, poaching, over-exploitation, environmental pollution, forest fires are some of the factors, which contribute to the decline in India's biodiversity.

The Himalayan Yew is a medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. It has been successfully used to treat some cancers. A chemical compound called 'Taxol' is extracted from the bark, needles, twigs and roots of this tree.

The Buxa Tiger Reserve in west Bengal is seriously threatened by the ongoing dolomite mining. It has disturbed the natural habitat of many species. It has blocked the migration route of several others, including the great Indian elephant.