DEFINITION AND SCOPE

Forest Management is defined in the Glossary of Technical Terms as the practical

application of the scientific, technical and economic principles of forestry (BCFT). The term is
variously defined by different authors, embodying, in essence, the same essential ingredients.
Some of these are reproduced below:

(i) “Forest Management is that branch of forestry whose function is the organization of a forest
property of management and maintenance, by ordering in time and places the various operations
necessary for the conservation, protection and improvement of the forest on the one hand, and
the controlled harvesting of the forest on the other.”

(ii) “Forest Management is the application of business methods and technical forestry principles
to the operation of a forest property” (SAF)

The above definitions highlight the varied nature of the subject which is concerned with
the task of “building up, putting in order and keeping in order a forest business”. Forest
management, by implication, is not a basic subject in itself; it is the practical application of
science, technology and economics to a forest estate for the achievement of certain objectives –
mainly production of wood – timber and industrial raw material, and other forest products such
as resin, gum, tan bark, etc. It is based on the knowledge of a number of basic subjects /
sciences, such as Siliviculture, Ecology, Geology, Pedology, Botony, Mensuration, Pathology,
Economics, and Finance etc. In addition, a forester needs the practical experience gained from
observations in the field, results of past treatments given to a forest and deductions there from.

Management of forests broadly involves three main tasks viz,

(i) Control of composition and structure of the growing stock,

(ii) Harvesting and marketing of forest produce, and

(iii) Administration of forest property and personnel.

It is , unlike any other commercial enterprise, complication; as forests, particularly the

State-owned as most of the forests are in India (95.8%), are managed for a multiplicity of
purpose – productive, protective, climatic, wildlife, recreational and bilaesthetic, with one use
dominant, viz., most often the production of wood. Though the forest land can be managed
simultaneously for several uses, however, in some cases, uses are incompatible with one another;
e.g., grazing is not compatible with timber production, environmental conservation and
recreational use. In each case, priorities are laid down by the owner - the State or the private
owner as the case may be, and the management is oriented to achieve the prescribed objectives.
In the forests dedicated primarily to recreational and bio-aesthetic use, and conservation of
ecology and environment, grazing, fellings, timber extraction and even hunting may have to the
suspended. Productive and protective functions of the forests cannot be bifurcated. As a matter
of fact, scientifically managed forests perform both these, simultaneously;

Productive forests do protect and protective forests do produce – the distinction between
the two is of degree rather of kind - a matter of emphasis of the primary function of the forest
that the management aims at. It is, therefore, essential that forest resources are maintained in a
state of maximum production, consistent with their subsidiary or even the other main functions.
Forests have to be managed in such a way so as to provide maximum benefits to maximum
people and for all time, ensuring that the soil produces most and deteriorates least under their
treatment.

Scope of Forest Management:

Management of Forests, as that of any other enterprise, involves a process of making and
implementing policy decisions to achieve the objectives of the owner. These decisions involve,
in turn, a plan of action. Planning is the responsibility of the States and the Centre in case of
State-owned forests, broad principles for which are embodied in the National and the State
Forest Policies. Detailed plans are prepared by Forest Managers at the professional level, and
executed by the technician level staff. Forest Manager has to constantly manage the growing
stock to achieve given objects of management; in this process he has to decide: ‘how much,
when where and how to cut.’

Scope of Forest Management is very extensive; it encompasses broadly, the following main
activities:

A. Control of Growing Stock, its Structure and Composition:

 i. Site adaptation

ii. Choice of species

iii. Manipulation of stands

iv. Harvesting the produce

v. Regeneration

vi. Protection.

B. Distribution and Marketing of produce:

i. Transportation and communication.

ii. logging Plan

iii. Marketing data

iv. Sale of produce

v. Revenue

C. Administration of Forest Property:

i. Forest organization

ii. Management of Personnel

iii. Monitoring and control or works

iv. Labour management and welfare

v. Financial control and economy efficiency

vi. Fulfillment of social obligations

vii. Record for present and future reference.