Forest Based Resources of Uttarakhand :

The recorded forest area of the State is 34,662 km², which constitutes 64.79% of its geographic area. By legal status, Reserved Forests Constitute, 71.08% Protected Forest 28.51% and unclassed Forests 0.41% of the total area. 25 Major forest types occurring in the State are Tropical Moist Deciduous, Tropical Dry Deciduous, Sub-Tropical Pine, Himalayan Moist temperate, Himalayan Dry Temperate, Sub Alpine and Alpine Forest. Forests are largely distributed throughout the State with conifers and sal being the major forest formations.

The choice of species has to be based on agro- climatic conditions, objectives and market demand in the area. Accordingly, Poplar, Eucalyptus, Bamboo, Jatropha, Khair, Chyura and Sisal have been recommended for plantation in these districts. State Government is giving special emphasis on bamboos and Jatropha plantation and proposes to cover 2 lakh ha area under each of these species in the State.

In Tarai areas and in foot hills, there is a vast scope for agro- forestry programs where fast growing species like Poplar, Eucalyptus, Bamboo etc. can be taken up to meet the increasing demand of industries and the local people. Planting of Sisal in hilly areas also holds promise. The areas which are covered under Poplar plantation are Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital and Udhamsingh Nagar. These districts are considered best for plantation of Poplar in combination with field crops and farmers have adopted this species on their farm lands.

Some of state Forest based Resources are :

 Resin :

Resin obtained from the chirpine trees is an important non wood forest produce. Resin and turpentine are used in the paper, soap and paint industry. Resin extraction is an important livelihood opportunity for the rural population at present in Uttarakhand. There are 116 resin based industries in the State. Resin extraction was experimentally started in the year 1916 and from the year 1920 regular extractions started. Till the year 1993 resin extraction was done through „French cup and lip technique?. Though, the Resin extraction per tree varied between 1.5 to 1.75 kg. it lead to extensive 28 damage of the chir tree. From the year 1994 resin extraction is being done through the „Rill Technique? through this technique the damage of the trees is limited. Extraction is done from the month of October to March. Resin so collected is then auctioned to various industries.

River Bed Material ( RBM ) :

 In the Bhabar areas of the State a lot of boulders and sand collects in the rivers after the rains. It is essential that for silvi cultural purposes and to save the nearby habitations these boulders and sand be removed so that the river course is not diverted. Thus, collection of this river bed material is an very important livelihood option for the locals of the area. The State Forest Department takes due permission from the Govt. of India for the removal of RBM. The amount of RBM to be removed every year from each river is calculated on technical basis and these areas are then leased out to the Forest Corporation for removal. The Corporation in turn engages local people for removal of RBM. This RBM is then taken to various stone crusher units for grading and sorting purposes The main rivers in which RBM removal is done are Gaula, Sharda, Kosi, Dabka, Ganga, Yamuna and Song.

Bamboo:  

As per the national scenario, Uttarakhand comes under bamboo deficit area. There are 7 major species of bamboos viz. Dendrocalamus strictus, D. hamitonii, Bambusa nutans, Arundinaria State Uttarakhand Page 7 faccata, Themonocalamus spathiflora, Himalecalmus falconeri, Sinarundunaria jaunserensis. Forest land under Bamboo is 139409 ha. There is no survey of bamboos available on private lands. Major bamboos markets in Uttarakhand are Haldwani, Dehradun, Ramnagar, Khatima and Jwalapur.

 Jatropha plantation :

The State of Uttarakhand has potential for promoting Jatropha especially in the low elevation areas. For this purpose state government has set up Uttarakhand Biofuel board. The board plans to raise Jatropha plantation on Van Panchayat lands in different forest divisions by selecting intended beneficiaries from Van Panchayat members. The plantation will be raised mainly on wasteland/ degraded Van Panchayat lands. The State Government has planned to cover around 2.0 lakh ha area under Jatropha plantation in two phases through the Board. Carbon stock and mitigation potential of forests.

 The State has good forest cover which needs to be protected. The State has also large scale wood based industries in the form of paper mills, Plywood units, Katha factories and rosin factories and small scale units mainly of saw milling, carpentry, packing cases, sports goods, furniture, carving, toys, etc. with large scale building activities both in private and public sector, residential and other purpose, consumption of wood in solid and processed form has gone up. This has resulted in increased demand of forest produce specially timber and will certainly put additional pressure on the existing forests.