Forests - Our green lungs

Forests are very diverse. Depending on factors such as climate, soil conditions and forest history, different forest types have emerged for example evergreen in the tropics, rain forests in the warm temperate zones, coniferous forests of the northern forest belt etc. They are the most species-rich habitats of all: of the approximately 1.8 million animals and plant species on Earth, two third of them live in the forest.The country with the most forest is Russia where a quarter of all forests on earth can be found.

Only 20 years ago, one third of the land was covered by forests; today the number has dropped to only a quarter, which is about 3.9 billion hectares. While in Europe the number of trees is increasing, 12 to 15 million hectares of forest were lost every year in the southern hemisphere due to fires or deforestation. This loss of forests threatens the economic and ecological basis at local, regional and global levels.

The forests of India are ancient in nature and composition. The nation has a rich and varied heritage of biodiversity. Habitats ranging from tropical rainforests to alpine vegetation, from temperate forests to coastal wetlands can be found in India. The forest cover of India is assessed as 67.83 million hectares which constitute 20.64 per cent of the country's geographical area, ranging from the Himalayan Temperate to Dry Zone forests.

With only 2.4% of the world's area, India accounts for 7.31% of the global faunal total with a faunal species count of 89,451 species.

The nation has established 597 Protected Areas comprising 95 National Parks, 500 Wildlife Sanctuaries 2 conservation reserves covering 1.56 million ha area or 4.75 per cent geographical area of the country.
More about India’s biodiversity: whatisindia.com

India Forest is the second largest land use in India next to agriculture. Because of over-population in India and its boosting economy, the demand for forest based products has been rising constantly and as a result deforestation and encroachment were found, leading to a severe loss of natural resources and destruction of habitat.

Both locally and globally, the forest stands in close interaction with the environment. Global forests contribute significantly to the oxygen generation and carbon storage. Local effect of balancing effect on the microclimate of the forest around him, it is also why city park or green areas are especially popular on hot summer days. Forests and forest soils act as a filter, oxygen producers and water storage.

A tree produces its biomass, like all green plants, practically out of "nothing", i.e. carbon dioxide, water and solar energy. In India, the forests contain 2,800 million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass. One can imagine how forests literally serve as the “green lung” of the country and of the world.

A 100 year old oak tree with 130,000 leaves, their biological cells, binds each year about 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide to organic substances such as wood, leaves and bark, and gives off up to 4,500 kilograms of oxygen, which is the annual requirement of eleven people. At the same time, the tree works as an air conditioner. The roots of that oak suck every year, about 40,000 liters of water from the soil, the "sweat out" the leaves again. The generated evaporative cooling ensures that the forest even on hot summer days remains pleasantly cool. In addition, it filters in about one ton of dust and pollutants from the air, thus acts like a giant vacuum cleaner.
(Quelle: treffpunktwald.de)

Every day, our planet loses about 356 square kilometers of forest especially in the tropics but also in the vast territories of the Russian taiga. That is about 35 football fields of forest per minute. This immense forest destruction is responsible for around 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than when all the cars and airplanes of the world emit together. And the worldwide demand for wood is still increasing!

For example, the forest becomes disposable items of all kinds, from tissue paper to paper cups for the daily coffee-to-go. Or the forests have to give way to others - as soy is grown in its place for the increasingly growing meat production and palm oil crops for food and bio-fuel. To use the forest land for agricultural production of food, cattle feeding, bio-energy and renewable raw materials as well as municipal, commercial, industrial and mining is generally more economically attractive than forestry.
Even the often man-caused forest fires contribute to the destruction of large forest areas. It has particularly increased in recent years.

According to the World Bank's, it is estimated that forests are essential for survival and livelihoods for about 1.6 billion people who live in extreme poverty. The wide range of products made from the forests secure their food, income, housing and at the same time forests hold their spiritual and cultural values. Traditional forms of self-sustainable agricultural activities and knowledge of the usefulness of valuable forest resources including endangered flora and fauna are disappearing.

As one of the world’s leading economic powers, India relies its business heavily on the resources from the forest. Its growth of economy is at expense of its natural environment. Despite the findings in 2009 that believed the forest cover in India had increased 5% since 1990, some doubt the credibility of the figure as commercial deforestation in India is still reported frequently by journalists and researchers.

Until today, though after countless environmentalists stressing the importance of tree plantation for regulating pollution level in the air, illegal felling of trees is on the rise, for example, in the Sunderbans of India, the world's largest mangrove forest.
Read the news article here

What can forest serve for the people in India? Forests and woodlands are converted into agricultural land to feed growing numbers of people, plantation of cash crops and cattle ranching helps India to earn money, and trees were cut for firewood, building material and other wood products..

Monoculture plantations are on the rise in India, expanding by nearly 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 square miles) to 18,000 square kilometers (nearly 7,000 square miles) per year. (Quelle: Mongabay)

Apart from that, India is a big edible oil consumer. In fact, it is one of the three largest importers of palm oil in the world, along with EU and China. Of these imports, 95% come from Indonesia and Malaysia, causing negative social and environmental consequences in these exporting countries. The global demand for palm oil is projected to increase from the current level of 22 million tones to 40 million tones by 2020. This increase in demand is likely to force the producing countries to establish new plantations, by converting high conservation value forests. (Quelle: WWF)

More about the oil business and its impact

It is estimated that the demand for timber is likely to grow from 58 million cubic metres in 2005 to 153 million cubic meters in 2020. In principle, the usage of wood with sustainable management of forests could be turn into a renewable and environmentally friendly source of raw materials.

The concept of sustainability has its origin in the forest economy: over-exploitation, forest grazing and energy starvation in the Middle Ages led to the formulation of the basic principle of sustainability. To put it simple it suggests not to use more wood faster than the rate of the wood growing back. The Brundtland Commission (1987) and the Rio Conference (1992) have introduced the concept of sustainability as "Sustainable Development" in the international debate.

According to today's interpretation of the principle of sustainability, a balance between economic, environmental and social aspects over generations and regions are all included. To put it in the context of forestry, silvicultural strategies can only be economically successful in the long term if it is ecologically acceptable.

The FSC label is now the only seal that guarantees the products made out of wood are from a responsible source. The products include furniture, paper as well as construction materials and diapers.
www.fsc.org

In addition to the sustainable management of forests, it is necessary to protect certain forest areas in order to keep their long life span. From National Park, Animal Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserve, Reserved and Protected Forest to Community Reserve, there are at least 140 different categories of protected areas worldwide. For some such as biosphere reserves and national parks, international guidelines are applied. Others are regulated by the state. They are different in the strictness of protection and the degree of interventions to the area allowed.

However, not all reserves are equally protected: Most protected areas have been reported in regions where the resistance of various interest groups – e.g. Agriculture, tourism industry or mining companies. In India, the rising demand for forest-based products is causing deforestation and encroachment into forest protected areas.

The lack of will and initiatives from the financial and political sectors cause difficulties for the existing protected areas to be effectively managed, not to mention establishing new conservation. Many developing countries are not able to offer sufficient funds available to finance necessary salaries, infrastructure and equipment for this matter in order to protect biodiversity. Many of these areas are therefore, unfortunately, only available on paper - they are the so-called "paper parks".

Even under the current Kyoto protocol are the avoidance of deforestation and the protection of existing forests so far not financially honoured. To finance those reserves with global significance and as well as setting up new ones, new ways of protected area management, fundraising and financing of nature protection are needed. Only when the measures are no longer placed from top to bottom, would the forests and thus the climate be benefited. International regulations are necessary but also must be linked and be compatible to local and regional measures.

WWF India
India Environment Portal
India Biodiversity Portal
Wild India

Doris Pui-ying Lee