This document provides an overview of forest and biodiversity management. It begins with definitions of forests and classifications of different forest types. It then discusses the uses of forests, products trade and marketing, causes of deforestation, and measures to conserve forests. The document also introduces biodiversity, including definitions and types. It discusses the distribution and importance of biodiversity, as well as threats to biodiversity. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of conserving biodiversity for human survival.

1. Forest & Bio-diversity Management
Course : LLB I
Subject : Environment Law
UNIT - 5

2. Forest & Bio-diversity Management

3. Introduction to Forest:
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high
density of trees. A forest is usually an area filled with trees but any tall
densely packed area of vegetation may be considered a forest. Tree
forests cover approximately 9.4 percent of the Earth's surface though
they once covered much more. They function as habitats for organisms,
hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the
most important aspects of the biosphere.

4. Classification of Forest
Forests can be classified in different ways and to different degrees of
specificity. One such way is in terms of the "biome" in which they exist,
combined with leaf longevity of the dominant species. Another
distinction is whether the forests are composed predominantly of
broadleaf trees, coniferous (needle-leaved) trees, or mixed.

5. Classification Continued:
Forests come in all shapes and sizes. The many different types of forest
are generally classified according to location and climate.
1. Tropical rainforests
2. Sub-tropical forests
3. Mediterranean forests
4. Temperate forests
5. Coniferous forests
6. Montane forests
7. Plantation forests

6. Uses of forests:
1. Fuel Wood - For the rural population, wood is an important source of
energy for cooking and heating.
2. Fodder- Fodder from the forest forms an important source of food for
cattle and other grazing animals in the hilly and the arid regions and
during a drought.
3. Fencing- Fences created with trees and shrubs are used in many parts
of the world.
4. Soil Erosion Check- The roots bind the soil and prevent erosion by
wind or water.
5. Soil Improvement- Some trees have the ability to return nitrogen to
the soil through root decomposition or fallen leaves.
6. Honey- For animals and humans.
7. Oxygen- Necessary for every living being.
8. Fruits- To eat.
9. Natural Habitat for Wildlife- A natural home for animals to live.

7. Forest products trade and
marketing:
The 21st century continues a trend of rapid growth in both international trade
of forest products and a concern for forests. These two trends are connected.
Forces causing trade growth are linked to the loss of native forest resources in
some countries and the accumulation of non-native forest resources in other
countries.
Factors increasing trade include relaxation of trade barriers, income
growth, and improvements in wood growing, harvest, and manufacturing
technologies. But environmental concerns are increasing as consumer
preferences change, and as native forests recede and plantation forests
become more prominent.
Increasing trade in forest products has supported economic growth and
eradication of poverty in a number of emerging countries. But trading out of
poverty has proven difficult and it has led to further marginalization and
events of misconduct in some countries. Safeguards must be firmly put in
place to ensure that trade is based on legal and sustainable forest use, fair
labour conditions and equitable sharing of benefits. Good governance is
essential in setting the rules for sustainable production and trade.

8. Continued:
FAO is supporting country efforts to develop the sustainable and legal trade
of forest products, with the following objectives:
 Producers in emerging countries gain improved access to quantitative and
qualitative analyses on forest products trade and marketing issues
including tariffs, impediments for market access and other trade
restrictions.
 Policymakers and the private sector benefit from a wider coverage and a
structured interpretation of forest products trade statistics and a higher
degree of market transparency feeding into their forest decision making.
 Producers in emerging countries are better up-to-date on forest
certification and legality verification, and understand more profoundly
their implications for sustainable forest product trade, market access and
product promotion.

9. Continued:
 National and sub-national governments, local organizations,
communities and other rights holders have the capacity to capture
opportunities from forest carbon markets.
 Producers in emerging countries know how to apply proven
marketing strategies and practices in their local situations, including
green marketing in the low-carbon economy, branding and
ethical/fair trade tools, and enter into electronic marketplaces and
social media networks.

10. Forest Destruction
Forests have probably been subject anthropogenic destruction, or
deforestation, since the earliest days of Homo Sapiens and its
predecessor species. The initial need for fuel wood and construction
materials continued to increase as population expanded and as
industrial construction, discovery of mineral resources in the forested
area, and eventually roadways and highways, and new and successively
large settlement increased the demand for the forest products.

11. Causes of Deforestation
 Tropical rain forests have been particularly subject to destruction
since the 1950’s due to increased export of tropical hardwoods to
Europe, Japan, and United States.
 In drier area, tropical rainforest are being exploited for the
collection of fuel wood that, along with charcoal, is the main energy
source for a large number of the poor in the third world.
 Agricultural practices have also taken their toll on tropical forest.

12. Consequences of Deforestation
 One of the immediate effects of deforestation is an acceleration of
soil erosion.
 Consequence of tropical rain forest destruction are the long-term
and global effects.
 Impact on global climate.

13. Conserving and Protecting Our
Forests
Over the past two decades, there has been great change in the management of natural resources in and
around the world. As has occurred in many locations, Ontario's forest policy has shifted to a more
balanced ecological approach. This means the forest is viewed as part of a larger ecosystem which is
actively managed to protect and conserve a whole range of values and uses.
 Through legislation.
 The ‘Room to Grow’ framework sets out ways that increased wood supply for the forest industry to
support jobs and growth, also allows for an increase in new parks and protected areas.

14. Measures to Conserve
Forest:
1. By avoiding deforestation
2. By reducing pollution
3. By not practising overgrazing and if necessary rotational grazing
can be adopted .
4. Plant trees on hillsides and abandoned land.
5. Cut only matured or damage trees.
6. Re-plant to insure future supplies.
7. Put out camp fires before leaving the camp and don't throw away
lighted cigarettes.

15. Forest Loss and Management
The scientific study of forest species and their interaction with the environment is
referred to as forest ecology, while the management of forests is often referred to
as forestry. Forest management has changed considerably over the last few centuries,
with rapid changes from the 1980s onwards culminating in a practice now referred to
as sustainable forest management. Forest ecologists concentrate on forest patterns and
processes, usually with the aim of elucidating cause-and-effect relationships. Foresters
who practice sustainable forest management focus on the integration of ecological,
social, and economic values, often in consultation with local communities and other
stakeholders.
Anthropogenic factors that can affect forests include logging, urban sprawl,
human-caused forest fires, acid rain, and the slash and burn practices of swidden
agriculture or shifting cultivation. The loss and re-growth of forest leads to a distinction
between two broad types of forest, primary or old-growth forest and secondary forest.
There are also many natural factors that can cause changes in forests over time
including forest fires, insects, diseases, weather, competition between species, etc. In
1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world's original
forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forest. More than 75% of these
intact forests lie in three countries—the Boreal forests of Russia and Canada and the
rainforest of Brazil.

16. Continued
• In the United States, most forests have historically been affected by
humans to some degree, though in recent years improved forestry
practices has helped regulate or moderate large scale or severe
impacts. However, the United States Forest Service estimates a net
loss of about 2 million hectares (4,942,000 acres) between 1997 and
2020; this estimate includes conversion of forest land to other uses,
including urban and suburban development, as well as afforestation
and natural reversion of abandoned crop and pasture land to forest.
However, in many areas of the United States, the area of forest is
stable or increasing, particularly in many northern states. The
opposite problem from flooding has plagued national forests, with
loggers complaining that a lack of thinning and proper forest
management has resulted in large forest fires.

17. What can we do to preserve our
forest?
A few things we can also do to help:
1. Share Information.
2. Join organizations.
3. Reduce the use of artificial items, recycle more and re-use items.
There is a fun way to remember the most important points in forest
preservation called TREES which means
Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can
help save rainforests.
Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have
been cut down.
Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment
Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife
Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the
environment

18. Introduction to Biodiversity
The term Biodiversity was first coined by Walter G.
Rosen in 1986. The Biosphere comprises of a complex
collections of innumerable organisms, known as the
Biodiversity, which constitute the vital life support for
survival of human race.
Biological diversity, abbreviated as biodiversity,
represents the sum total of carious life forms such as
unicellular fungi, protozoa, bacteria, and multi cellular
organisms such as plants, fishes, and mammals at
various biological levels including gens, habitats, and
ecosystem.

19. Definition of Biodiversity
As defined in convention on Biological diversity signed at Rio De
Jenerio (Brazil) in 1992 by 154 countries, the Biodiversity defined as “the
variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia,
terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic eco-systems and the ecological
complexes of which the area part- this include diversity within species,
between species and of ecosystem.”

20. Types of Biodiversity:
1. Diversity of Species.
2. Diversity of Ecosystem.
3. Diversity of Genes.

21. Distribution of Biodiversity
Flora and fauna diversity depends on:
1. Climate
2. Altitude
3. Soils
4. Presence of other species
5. Most of the biodiversity concentrated in Tropical region.
Biodiversity Hotspots:
6. A region with high biodiversity with most of spices being Endemic.
7. India has two Biodiversity Hotspots- East Himalayan Region and
Western Ghats.

22. Biodiversity and Balance of
Nature
•. Tropic Level
•. Complex Ecosystem
•. Keystone Species

23. Benefits of Biodiversity
Consumptive value:
1. Food/Drink
2. Fuel
3. Medicine
4. Industrial Material.
Non-Consumptive Value:
5. Recreation
6. Education and Research
7. Traditional value
Ecological services:
1. Balance of nature
2. Biological productivity
3. Regulation of climate
4. Degradation of waste
5. Cleaning of air and water
6. Cycling of nutrients
7. Control of potential pest and
disease causing species
8. Detoxification of soil and sediments
9. Stabilization of land against
erosion
10. Maintenance of Soil fertility

24. Threats of Biodiversity
Natural causes:
1. Narrow geographical area
2. Low population
3. Low breeding rate
4. Natural disasters
Anthropogenic causes:
5. Habitat modification
6. Overexploitation of selected species
7. Innovation by exotic species
8. Pollution
9. Hunting
10. Global warming and climate change
11. Agriculture
12. Domino effect

25. Recent Issues on Biodiversity
1. Some 75 per cent of the genetic diversity of crop
2. Plants been lost in the past century.
3. Some scientists estimate that as many as 3 species per hour are going
extinct and 20,000 extinctions occur each year.
4. Roughly one-third of the world’s coral reef systems have been destroyed
or highly degraded.
5. About 24 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of bird species are
currently considered to be globally threatened.
6. More than 50 per cent of the world’s wetlands have been drained, and
populations of inland water and wetland species have declined by 50per
cent between 1970 and 1999.

26. Conservation of Biodiversity
1. Biodiversity inventories
2. Conserving Biodiversity in protected Habitats-
3. In situ conservation
4. Ex situ conservation
5. Seed Bank, Gene Bank, Pollen Bank, DNA Bank.
6. Restoration of Biodiversity
7. Imparting Environmental Education
8. Enacting, strengthening and enforcing Environmental Legislation
9. Population Control
10. Reviewing the agriculture practice
11. Controlling Urbanization
12. Conservation through Biotechnology

27. Biodiversity Conventions
1. The first convention on biodiversity organized at Rio De Jenerio, capital
of Brazil from June 5 to 16, 1992 named as United Nation Conference On
Environment and Development (UNCED), better known as Rio Summit to
maintain ecological balance and enrich biodiversity. The agreement on
biodiversity signed by 150 countries including three programs
a. To ensure conservation of biodiversity
b. Sustainable use of biodiversity
c. Rational and equitable share of profit to accrue from use of genetic
resources.

28. Convention Continued:
2. The second convention organized at Johannesburg in 2002 called World Summit On
Sustainable Development (WSSD) where the Biodiversity and Sustainable Ecosystem
Management was the issue.
3. The International Conference held on Biodiversity in Relation to Food & Human
Security in a warming planet 15-17 February, 2010 in Chennai.
4. International Conference on Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation held on 3 to 5 June,
2010 at Dal lake, Srinagar, Kashmir.
5. Indian Biodiversity Congress (IBC) & Indian Biodiversity Expo(IBE) will be held on 27-
31 December at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

29. Conclusion
Biodiversity is our life. If the Biodiversity got lost at this rate then in near future, the
survival of human being will be threatened. So, it is our moral duty to conserve
Biodiversity as well our Environment. Long-term maintenance of species and their
management requires co-operative efforts across entire landscapes. Biodiversity should
be dealt with at scale of habitats or ecosystems rather than at species level.

30. References:
• 1. United Nation Conference On Environment and Development
(UNCED) ,
• 2. World Summit On Sustainable Development (WSSD), 2002
• 3. International Conference on Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation

31. Thank You 