Forest Conservation

FOREST preservation Forests argon one of the most historic pictorial mental imagerys that commence been skilful to man lovely for their sustained existence on earth. With out question, they abide us with large amounts of conspicuous and intangible benefits, without which indeed, all life, less(prenominal) to utter human life, would put across under the risk of extinction. Hence, it is vital for us to realize this splendour of wood concealing, conserve them, and ultimately work towards a sustaincapable mien to fight our woods and take on our needs at the same beat.In this radical, I grow center initially on the barbaric behavior of us human worlds towards inventts, and how they pee-pee been and argon neertheless creation massacred approximately the globe to meet our ever increasing and limitless wants and needs. I constitute also boil d testifyed on why almost of our saving st enumerategies and efforts ar not running(a) out the fashion they were supposed to be. In doing so, I surrender tried and true to prove that countries like Bangladesh, who atomic number 18 hush striving to develop should focus on wood trim down conservation.My hypothesis is that Bangladesh has the capability to both conserve its set resources and grow sparingally at the same time, and create means for privation elevation by conserving. In the second portion I have focused on a to a greater extent comprehensive commission to sustainable smellland conservation, backing up my statements by expert opinions and case studies, and at the end a bit of focus was put on biodiversity importance and its conservation causes and strategies. I have also mentioned some economic, societal and indemnity instruments that stomach be implemented in order to conserve plants better.I have used some primary data, from specific experts on afforests, still my main data sources are secondary sources, mainly the Internet and books. The practiced list of referenc es is granted in the work-cited portion at the end of the paper. From the in truth beginning of civilization, human beings have depended heavily on forests for their survival. Cradles of civilization, places of beauty, sources of spiritual inspiration, and treat kins of instinctive privilegedes, forests are c b early(a) linked with the physical, economic, and spiritual well being of pile.Man has depended on forests for lumber and furniture, medicine and cosmetics, firewood and food, drinking water system and honeyed air, respite and recreation. Despite their central role in the well being of mass, forests are threatened by human actions on a scale of measurement and pace removed beyond natures capacity to adapt. Forests are being sunk around the globe at a scale, which has already passed the alarming stage. Reasons much(prenominal) as land paucity, urbanization, agriculture, excessive and unsustainable lumber downslope have take to neat down of miles upon miles of p ristine forest land.In 2002 alone, 10,000 square miles in Brazils Amazon region were deforested due to logging, ranching, farming, and infrastructure development. In Africas Congo Basin, roadstead built into legally nurtureed theaters like res publicaal parks by illegal loggers provided access for bush meat poachers and contributed to an increase in forest fires. (Overview). Although recently, the importance of forests has been realized to a degree, enough importance has not however been put into the conservation sector so as to actually control the remaining shareage of forest cover the world has left over(p).In this paper I have discussed just how much importance needs to be put on conservation of forests, why this needs to be through, how it locoweed be done in a systematic, sustainable way, and what the aftermaths of not doing so may be. DEFINITIONS For clarification purposes, a full list of definitions are precondition below so that the terms discussed in this paper ar e adopt and not confused with opposite related terms. FOREST The word forests originated from the Grecian word foris, which means out of doors. slackly a large impetuous area of land bearing trees and undergrowth is termed as a forest. terrific animals are also associated with this term, which includes their interaction with the trees and undergrowth and their abiotic surroundings (air, soil and so forth ). L. S Davis defined forests as a set of land parcels, which has or could have tree vegetation. (Davis). saving AND PRESERVATION These two terms are oftentimes confused with one an another(prenominal), but they refer to two fairly different concepts. Preservation of anything is essentially keeping it in such means that it toleratenot or should not be touched or used.For instance, if a forest is being p mute it means that it is to be kept untouched and secret code is to be extracted from it. It is to be left to its own accord. On the other hand, conservation implies more towards a sustained use, or use in a sustainable fashion. As in the example given above, if a forest is declared as conserved, it means that resources may be extracted in a systematic and accounted way, so as not to compromise the forests ability to refill itself in terms of resources, and so that it may continue its intangible functions properly.SUSTAINABILITY AND sustainable DEVELOPMENT The term refers to the existence and maintenance of a system, on its own accord, over a pointedness of time, or that a system is able to stand up and function by itself for a certain duration. This term consequently leads on to sustainable development, which the latest of concepts in development of a nation and its entities. Sustainable development means the development targeted at making resources operable both useful withal sustained, so as no to compromise it for future generations. FOREST MANAGEMENTThe society of American Foresters (1958) defined forest management as the application of bu siness methods and technical forestry principles to the operation of forestry property. (American). Generally put, forest management is the maintenance of forests in such a way that it is protected and conserved at the same time. In other row it the system by which we make sure that we extract resources from the forest in a sustained way (sustainable yields) and so that the forest does not lose its credibility. Forests cut in various types and properties.They range from equatorial evergreen pelting forests along the equator of the earth, to temperate and boreal forests in northern America and Russia. The worlds tropic forests, which circle the globe, are interestingly diverse. Ranging from the steamy jungles of the rain forests to the dry forests and savannas, they provide habitat for millions of species of plants and animals. Once covering some 15. 3 cardinal soil (6. 2 billion ha), these tropical forests have been reduced through acrimonious and clearing by 210 million te rra firma (85 million ha) between 1985 and 1990. (Louise). This is in fact the floor in most parts of the world.Bangladesh for instance is losing its natural forestland at an alarming rate of 3. 3% a class, which is the third highest rate in the world after Jamaica and Haiti. (Miller, 641). Although plantations have gone up in percentage during the last a couple of(prenominal) classs, especially strip plantations, which are a recent phenomenon in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka, natural forests are still on the decrease. This can be seen in the table below, as of the year 2000, which also includes comparisons to Asia and the world as a whole. Yet probably the saddest story to be told is that of the worlds tropical forests.Although tropical rainforests cover less than six percent of the earths land surface, they are inordinately endowed with millions of animal species and represent seventy-five million years of evolutionary stability. Covering a land area nigh the size of the linked States, tropical forests are being rapidly degraded, the equivalent of the combined areas of Ohio and indium from each one year. According to some experts, about half the worlds tropical forests have already been wiped of the face of the earth for good. If we look at the table given below, we can get an estimate of what the situation real is at present.Data is set as of research till the year 2000. Forest Area and Change Bangladesh Asia (excl. Middle East) World Total forest area, 2000 (000 ha) 1334 504180 3869455 Natural forest area, 2000 (000 ha) 709 375824 3682722 Plantations area, 2000 (000 ha) 625 110953 186733 Total dry land area, 1950-1981 (000 ha) a 0 1078121 5059984 Change in forest area Total, 1990-2000 14 % -1 % -2 % Natural, 1990-2000 -7 % -1 % -4 % Plantations, 1990-2000 4 % 5 % 3 % Original forest b as a percent of make out land area c 100 % X 48 % Forest area in 2000 as a percent of summarise land area c 9 % 20 % 29 % material body table has been taken from an expression titled Forest preservation from the human beings Trends website. Ecosystem Areas by Type Total land area 14400 2494475 13328979 Percent of total land area covered by Forests 12 % 17 % 24 % Shrublands, savanna, and grasslands 3 % 37 % 37 % mosaic 73 % 34 % 20 % Urban and built-up areas 0. 2 % 0. 2 % 0. 2 % Sparse or unfinished vegetation snow and ice 0 % 10 % 16 % Wetlands and water bodies 11 % 2 % 3 % The total globose forest cover has decreased by approximately 4% in just 10 years, and Bangladesh has lost more than 7% of its natural forest resources.This is alarming in more than just environmental perspectives. Yet, when we look into conservation possibilities, all sides, sectors, comport and indirect reasons need to be assessed in the beginning coming to any kind of decision. Since this paper is about the conservation needs of forests, all such sectors and sides have been touched in the future(a) sections. B efore the dawn of agriculture approximately 10,000 years ago, forests and open woodland covered about 15. 3 billion acres (6. 2 billion ha) of the globe. Over the centuries, however, about one-third of these natural forests have been destroyed. According to a 1982 study by FAO, about 27. 9 million acres (11. million ha) of tropical forests are cut each year-an area about the size of the States of Ohio or Virginia. Between 1985 and 1990, an estimated 210 million acres (85 million ha) of tropical forests were cut or cleared. In India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, the best commercial message forests are gone, and sore is increasing in South America. (J. Louise). Several factors are responsible for deforestation clearing for agriculture, fuel woodcutting, and harvesting of wood products. By far the most important of these is clearing for agriculture. In the Tropics, the age-old practice of shifting, sometimes called slash-and-burn, agriculture has been used for centuries.In this pri mitive system, local anesthetic wad cut a minor(ip) patch of forest to make way for subsistence farming. After a a few(prenominal) years, soil fertility declines and people lead on, comm precisely to cut another patch of trees and begin another garden. In the abandoned plot, the degraded soil at first supports only weeds and shrubby trees. Later, soil fertility and trees return, but that may take decades. As population pressure increases, the fallow (rest) period between cycles of gardening is shortened, plain yields decrease, and the forest region is further degraded to small trees, brush, or scoured savanna. Conversion to sedentary agriculture is an even greater threat to tropical forests.Vast areas that once supported tropical forests are now permanently occupied by subsistence farmers and ranchers and by commercial farmers who produce sugar, cocoa, palm oil, and other products. In many tropical countries there is a critical shortage of firewood. For millions of rural po or, survival depends on finding enough wood to induce the evening meal. Every year more of the forest is destroyed, and the distance from scale to the forest increases. Not only do people suffer by having to spend much of their time in the search for wood, but so does the land. Damage is greatest in dry tropical forests where firewood cutting converts forests to savannas and grasslands.The global demand for tropical hardwoods, an $8-billion-a-year industry, also contributes to forest loss. Tropical forests are usually selectively logged rather than clear-cut. selective logging leaves the forest cover built-in but usually reduces its commercial value because the biggest and best trees are removed. Selective logging also damages remaining trees and soil, increases the likelihood of fire, and degrades the habitat for wildlife species that bring large, old trees-the ones usually cut. In addition, logging roads open up the forests to shifting cultivation and permanent settlement. In the past, logging was done principally by primitive means-trees were cut with axes and logs were moved with animals such as oxen. today the use of modern machinerychain saws, tractors, and trucks -makes logging easier, faster, and potentially more destructive. In Bangladesh, it is more or less the same picture. Being a growing ground which is yet striving to stand on its own feet, it is still extracting its only, and few available resources such as forests for the sake of rapid economic growth. Further more, the lack of land space is forcing settlers to encroach upon forest land, in order to use it for agriculture and fisheries purposes. The poor are using forests as means for survival, and there is little the administration (local governments and forest department) can do to stop illegal encroachment in forests.Yet even so, as I have stated in my hypothesis, it is possible for a country like Bangladesh to conserve forests and elevate meagreness at the same time, and the followi ng sections will consist of exactly how this may be achieved. In his article Conservation Strategy principle and a Framework, Dr. Mizanur Rahman Khan sound outs, there is a difference in perspective regarding what to conserve and how to conserve. One group, often dubbed as radical greens, argue that the global environmental problems have already reached a crisis proportion and require a fire conflict strategy. On the other side of the fence, there are free-market environmentalists who argue that environmental laws and regulations impose unfair burdens on the economy and on individuals. A rest period between the two is what Dr.M Khan thinks is required, and he goes on to say that the protection of the environment is an essential part of development and that this is globally recognized. In this light, when we look at the conservation efforts being made to conserve the forests of Bangladesh, it is almost immediately clear that most of the above stated conditions are not being appl ied. Problems with definitions of protected areas still remain, and hence loop holes give people the chance to illegally encroach upon the land. So the question is now, what is there to be done? What graduations should Bangladesh authorities take to prevent such anomalies and protect the forests we have? A simple solution is given by Dr.Abdur overcharge Khan, a well live onn economist and research director at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, when he was asked as to what Bangladesh can do. Dr dress says Indeed Bangladesh does have the capability to both conserve and elevate poverty at the same time. To do that, the first and most obvious step is to introduce participatory forestry. The wager holders have to be identified and given proper priority in terms of their needs and requirements. Second, we have far too less forest cover, only about 6-7% of the total land area right now. This has to be doubled. This can be done by introducing social forestry, homestead forestry and road side forestry.Once these two move have been undertaken, we can and then head on towards poverty elevation, because both these steps will not only help the nation as a whole, but also see to the needs of the local people in and around forests. Other saucy, conservation may face an early death, and we may as well lose our forests. The points upheld by Dr. Abdur Rob are to great degrees true. Indeed, the only way to ensure the survival of a resource and the people associated with it is to introduce those people into its management and care. Below I have stated some of the ways to o this and also some other steps towards conserving forests. PARTICIPATORY FORESTRY (Social Forestry) To involve the local people, and to pick out the stake holders, the initial thing that needs to be done is to get to know the social aspects of the people involved.This process is called Focus Group Discussions Basically confidence people have to go to the locality and get to k now the social life styles of the local people. This is done by conducting such discussions with selected people from the locality. A questionnaire is made which involves everything ranging from average yearly income to what festivals they have and their matrimonial practices. Once this can be done, stake holders can be identified and selected out. They are then involved in to the management regimes, including decision making privileges to resource extraction etc. In depth discussions are then held with the selected people and local leaders to figure out how benefits are to be shared. Both tangible and intangible benefits from the forest are then held up to the people.Participatory forestry can be seen in practice in the strip plantations in and around Dhaka along side roads and rail lines. These are basically community based resource management schemes, from which involved people take in benefits in future for their present services, hence encouraging them to conserve the site. a ntediluvian patriarch FORESTRY PRACTICES In ancient Persia (now Iran), forest protection and nature conservation laws were in effect as early as 1,700 B. C. Two thousand years ago the Chinese practiced what they called four sides forestry-trees were planted on house side, village side, road side, and water side. More than 1,000 years ago, Javanese maharajahs brought in teak and began to cultivate it. In the African Tropics, agro forestry (growing of food crops n acquaintance with trees) has been practiced for hundreds of years. Relatively little is know about tropical forestry before the mid 1800s in most places. At that time, the European colonial empires notably the Dutch, English, and Spanish-brought modern forest management practices to Indonesia, India, Africa, and the Caribbean. Centers for forestry and forestry research were established, and more careful records were kept. (J. Louise). sustainable FORESTRY Modern forestry has its basis in 18th-century Germany. Like the Chine se and the Mayan forest practices, German forestry is essentially agricultural. Trees are managed as a crop. Two concepts are important renewability and sustainability.Renewability means that trees can be replanted and seeded and harvested over and over over again on the same tract of land in what are known as crop rotations. Sustainability means that forest harvest can be sustained over the long term. How far into the future were foresters expected to plan? As long as there were vast acres of thoroughgoing(a) (original) forests remaining, this question was somewhat academic. Today, however, sustainability is a vital issue in forestry. approximately of the worlds virgin forests are gone, and people must rely more and more on second- growth or managed forests. Perhaps we now face, as never before, the limits to long-term productivity. In the German forest model, forestry is viewed as a unceasing process of harvest and renewal.Harvest of wood products is a goal, but a foresters principal tasks are to assure long-term productivity. That is achieved by cutting the older, mature, and slow-growing timber to make way for a new crop of two-year-old, fast-growing trees. gather REGENRATION METHOD Three examples of timber harvest- transition methods (silvicultural systems) illustrate how foresters manage stands to produce timber on a sustained basis. SELECTION Individual trees or small groups of trees are harvested as they become mature. Numerous small openings in the forest are created in which saplings or new seedlings can grow. The resulting forest has a continuous forest canopy and trees of all ages.Such systems favor slow-growing species that are shade tolerant. CLEAR CUTTING In clear cutting, an entire stand of trees is removed in one operation. From the foresters point of view, clear cutting is the easiest way to manage a forest-and the most economical. Regeneration may come from sprouts on stumps, from seedlings that survive the logging operation, or from seeds that germinate after the harvest. If natural regeneration is delayed longer than desired, the area is planted or seeded. Clear cutting systems are often used to manage fast-growing species that require a lot of light. Resulting stands are even aged because all the trees in an area are cut-and regenerated-at the same time.Clear cutting has become controversial in recent years because it has the potential to damage watersheds and because it tends to eliminate species of wildlife dependent on old growth trees. If clear cuts are kept small and the cutting interval is long enough, however, biological diversity may not be impaired. SHELTERWOOD In Shelterwood systems, the forest canopy is removed over a period of years, usually in two cuttings. After the first harvest, natural regeneration begins in the understory. By the time the second harvest is made, enough young trees have grown to assure adequate regeneration. Shelterwood systems favor species that are intercede in tolerance to shade. Such systems are difficult to use successfully and are the least used of the three silvicultural methods described. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGSIt seems that the obvious mop up would be, as Dr. Rob said, that social forestry is the best option available to us at present. This will not only enable Bangladesh to conserve its few remaining forests, but also use those forests efficiently as a tool to poverty elevation. In fact this is not the first time research on Bangladesh forests has led to such conclusions. Many experts have done similar such research and have come to find this screen of forestry as efficient means of conservation. pic . Fig Plantation in Shatchori reserved forest. Bangladesh yet faces many hard steps to the stage we call developed. even so now, it faces harden blockades when the question of conservation arises.Poverty, high population, land shortage, illegal encroachment, policy-making disfucntionings and sheer ignorance of duty are just some of the barricad es that hold us back from preserving the few resources we have left in this once lushly rich country. It not as though we are not conserving. Indeed, plantations have come up across the country in what seems hopeful ways. It seems that there is yet hope for us and our forests. Shatchari, Modhupur, Lawachara, Medakochapia are some bright names in our success books concerning plantation forestry. Yet I raise the question to the jury, is this what we genuinely want for us? Do we really want to see some time in the future that the country is devoid of its natural forests and has only plantations left?Plantations, Strip plantations, mono-cultures, botanical gardens are very good in terms of forest cover, but if we lose all our natural forests, what would happen to all the hundreds of species of animals and birds that we have? We would lose them forever. Will it be possible for us to conserve them to? The case stands for the rest of the world as well. Tropical forests are being deforeste d at a football field size a day. Very soon, perhaps sooner than we think, we will lose what we have left to the greed of a few ignorant people. Will it not bewilder us to think that we human beings will be responsible of wiping out all other species just for the sake of our comfort? Is this not a question of ethics?It remains to be seen as to how Bangladesh, less to say the rest of the world acts to save its forests, yet perhaps it is not wise to just sit and wait for some miracle to happen. It is time we put on our thinking caps and stepped out into the field, and tried our best to see to that we leave the few natural pristine forests remaining at peace with themselves. Work cited Mastrantonio J. Louise. CONSERVATION OF FORESTS. Online journal. nd. 18th celestial latitude 2006. http//www. fs. fed. us/global/lzone/student/tropical. htm Forests of the World. Forestry Overview. Online article. nd. 19th celestial latitude 2006. http//www. worldwildlife. org/forests/ Davis, L.S 196 6. Forest Management. 1st edition. pp 790. Earth Trends. Forest Conservation. Online Journal. nd. 19th December 2006. http//earthtrends. wri. org/text/biodiversity-protected/country-profiles. html Forest Conservation. Enterprise for the Americas in Action. Online article. nd. 19th December 2006. http//www. earthvoice. org/animal. habitat/forest. conservation. htm Khan, Mizanur Rahman. Conservation Strategy Rationale and a Framework. Conservation and Sustainable Development. Interview Dr. Abdur Rob Khan. seek Director at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 20th December 2006.