CAUSES OF LOSS IN BD

 Increasing Population & Limited Forest Area of the State-

o It has increased about thirty times from 1961; whereas forest area has remained more
or less static. This single factor is contributing to the over-use of forest BD & causing
changes/ reduction in it.
 Demands of local Communities [Tribals] on Eastern Belt Forest- BD.
o Tribals are dependent on forests for various resources
o The population has increased from 48.48 Lakhs in 1981 to 74.81 Lakhs in 2001; an
increase of 53 %, over two decade. On the other hands, forest resources in the state
have remained static. In addition, most of tribals are below poverty line & forests
provide them their subsistence needs. High human density, depending upon forest
resource for their day to day needs, is most common cause of degradation of forests.
Such a process is slow & area affected is large, so process intends to be unnoticeable &
acceptable till it reaches an unmanageable level, when flora & fauna start disappearing
 Falling Supplies & Increasing Demands of Timber, Fuel wood & NTFTs in the State.
o It is an accepted fact that a large section of poor has to obtain their needs of fuel wood
& NTFTs free at no personal cost. In such a scenario, pressure on forests & BD, has
increased beyond its carrying capacity
 Fuel Wood Removal from Forests
o According to data collected by the National Council of Applied Research, annual house
hold consumption of fuel wood in forested rural areas is 540 Kilogram, on an average.
The requirement of fuel wood based on 2001 census works out to be 11 lakh MT per
year This quantity is a big drain on forest BD.
 Free & Unrestricted Grazing in Forest Areas of Eastern Belt
o This is one of the externalities doing irreversible damage to forests BD. Such grazing
leads to absence of natural regeneration thereby stopping ecological process of
succession, compaction of ground leading to increase in run off apart from retarding
growth of affected Spp. At no stage, forests have been
provided rest from grazing in the history of state
 Unauthorized Cultivation
o Encroachments are prevalent only in eastern belt of the state. Rest of the state is mostly
free from unauthorized cultivation
 Forest Fires
 Hunting & Poaching
o Hunting has reduced considerable in the last decade. There are only few cases.Poaching,
however, continue mostly as a part of game as well as for subsistence.
 Illicit Cutting-
o Illicit cutting is for two purposes; for self domestic needs of timber for house
construction & agriculture implements, fire wood and Second type of illicit cutting is
done to earn fast money & is commonly called commercial thefts
 Activities of Other Sectors
o Few extraneous pressures from activities in other sectors are affecting BD of the state
Chief among them are nutrient loading, primarily of nitrogen & phosphorus
fertilizers,over use of pesticides, insecticides etc.
 Mining
o Many minerals in the state are found in forests areas or in their vicinity. Open cast
mining is the dominant form of mining in the state. This type of mining starts with the
removal of soil & vegetation of the area. It removes both under & over ground BD.
 Global climatic change
 Pollution
 Over exploitation

IMPACTS
 area under forest has legally remained static in the last decade but the quality of BD,
density of forests etc, is going down.
 The forest ecosystems are in unhealthy state. Removal from them far their annual
increment
 Population of many rare & endangered Spp has declined
 Reduction in BD cover over forest areas has increased soil erosion from these lands
 Population of most of the fauna Spp except panther on the eastern belt is on the
decrease.
 As a result of grazing on grasslands & invasion of Prosopis, breeding of some of the
migratory & globally endangered birds Spp like Lesser Florican, Great Indian Bustard,
has decreased.
 For a while, BD withstood the exploitation but now a stage has come when withdrawals
from BD far exceed the recruitment & regeneration. Under the circumstances, BD is
slowly but definitely declining.
 Survival being a selfish motive,human is showing only a limited interest on the
preservation of habitat & biota. As long as, BD does not clash with human welfare or
survival, it is ignored.

PREVENTION AND CONSERVATION

A-Indian Forest Act, 1927
B-The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972
C-Forest Conservation Act, 1980
D- National Forest Policy, 1988
E-Biodiversity Act 2002
 ETC..

The Forest Department of Karnataka declared 183 plants, including 81

medicinal, as endangered, rare and vulnerable.

As per IUCN, the forest department has named 40 animals who are in the
brink of extinction in Karnataka. This list includes among other animals,

 Black buck
 Wild Dog
 Elephants
 Indian brown mongoose
 Kolar-leaf nosed bat
 Lion-tailed Macau

Some of the threatened plant species that have been marked ‘red’ by the forest
officials are,

 Arisina Balli
 Sambar Balli Twak
 Maakali Beeru Fly Catcher
 Tandavari
 Sampige

Among the vertebrates it was also found that there are 165 species
that are endemic to India and 26 species that are endemic to the
state of Maharshtra.some of the endemic species are
 Forest owlet found in Shahada and Taloda of Dhule district
 Indian white-backed vulture and Long-billed vulture
 Tigers
 The soft-furred rat (Millardia kondana)
