Types of Forest and Forest conservation movements in Uttarakhand :

Uttarakhand is one of the densest forest areas of India because it is extremely rich in natural resources and a rich biodiversity. Forests have been an integral part of cultural, social and economic life of Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand mainly consists of a hilly terrain except the tarai and bhabar areas. Most of this region is covered with forests. About 35, 399 sq km. area that is 5.2 million hectares (about two– third of the geographical area) of this state is under forest cover, out of which 23000 sq km is under the control of the forest department.

Forests are the main sources of the raw material for industries, buildings and other tertiary sectors. The new state of Uttarakhand has good potential for the development of forest resources. Peoples who live in remote villages or far flung areas depend completely upon forests for meeting their day to day needs, like timber, fuel, fodder for animals, drugs etc. The First Forest Research Institute of the country was founded at Dehradun in 1914; a forest ranger college was established in Dehradun and forest rangers were trained there. At that time the income of the state was around Rs.600 crore from the forest resources. Most of the hilly area of this region is covered with thick forests with pine (chir), spruce, mainly oak, rhododendron, deodar, sal, teak, khair, behara, haldu, semal, shisham at different altitudes.

Geographically, the forests in Uttarakhand can be classified into four categories:

1. Himadri Forest :

These forests are found at the height of about 3000 to 3800 m and are dominated by little shrubs and rhododendron. These forests are mostly found in Tehri Garhwal, Dehradun and Almora districts.

2. Tropical Pine Forests :

These forests are found at the height of about 1000 to 1800 m and are known as tropical-pine forests. These are evergreen forests and are found in the lower Himalayan region, in between the moist semitemperate forests and tropical moist deciduous forests. Pine is the dominating species of this zone. Extensive presence of pine forests is quite evident in Ranikhet and Almora. The temperate forests are generally found between 1,050 and 1,900 m on the southern slopes and between 900 and 1,800 m on northern slopes.

3. Himalayan Moist Semi-temperate Forests :

These forests are found at the height of about 1600 to 2900 m. These are evergreen and have needle shaped leaves. Deodar is the main species which is called gold wood because of its durability, strength and long life span. Other trees are blue pine, silverfir, bamboo, birch, chinar, maple. Rhododendrons are the most commonly found species in this region.

4.Tropical Forests :

 These are mixed forests and are found below the height of 1000 m. Commercially these forests are very important and are of deciduous type. Sal, shisham, haldu, khair, teak, mahogany, mulberry are the main species.

Forest Conservation Movement :

Chipko movement :

The world famous Chipko Movement was started at Gopeshwar in 1973 by a 23 year old widow Gaura Devi to stop the reckless and illegal exploitation of forests in Uttarakhand. The women of the region stood united against the government contract for felling trees, they hugged trees to save them from felling. They spent long hours walking from village to village, gathering support for the movement. The environmentalists Sunder Lal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt played key roles to make the movement successful. Chandi Prasad Bhatt was given Magsasay Award for his key role in the movement.

Maitri movement  :

Maitri movement was started by the women of Garhwal region to spread awareness about environment. This movement was led by Mr Kalyan Singh Rawat. Simultaneously, under the banner of this movement a large scale aforestation drive was also started. The whole movement was meant to save the deteriorating environment.

Apna Gaun Apni Van Yojana :

In order to connect people with forests, the plan Apna Gaun Apni Van Yojana was started by the government of Uttarakhand some time back. Initially, violation of forest rules was checked in Haldwani, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar. Subsequently, tree plantation was started for the development of forests on the barren stretches. Rambans and ringal species were abundantly planted to turn them into habitat for the animals. Chir (pine), oak, sal, sagaun, tun, etc plant species were also planted and kachnar, kharig, bhimal, biton like species were planted to meet fodder requirement of animals. Besides, some valuable medicinal plants and wild fruit plants were also planted.

Pani Rakho Movement  :

Pani Rakho Movement was started by the youths of Ufraikhal village in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand some 23 years ago. As a result of this movement, the barren land of this region has now completely turned fertile. Because of the afforestation drive the barren land has now turned into dense forests. About 15 lakh saplings were planted here; because of this the area is now replete with natural resources and water is available all round the year. The saplings were planted by the people of all the age groups. Mahila Mangal Dal also played a key role in maintaining the ecosystem of this region.

Although sizable portion of forest cover is present in Uttarakhand and serious efforts have been made by some people to save it but still large scale deforestation is going on. People living near forests are dependent on them for firewood and fodder for their animals. They lack awareness, instead of collecting leaves they cut the whole branch causing a big loss to the environment. Community participation can be increased by making them aware of the degrading environment and its impact.They should be made aware of usefulness of different types of plants. Oak tree plantation should be encouraged because the oak tree raises water level and provides plenty of fodder for animals. Besides, it is useful for humans due to its commercial value as oak is used as timber for building, construction and agricultural implements too. Along with this the fuel which we get from this tree is of high quality. So in order to save the forests we it should be covered with broad leaves trees and banj (Oak) should be preferred.