A

MOOC based Seminar Report

On

Tropical forest landscapes:

conservation and
restoration
https://www.coursera.org/

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement Seminar for the 1st Semester of
BCA
By
Sanjay Bajeli

2292208

Under the Guidance of

M R S . MAYURIKA JOSHI

DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL OF COMPUTING

GRAPHIC ERA HILL UNIVERSITY HALDWANI CAMPUS
BAREILLY ROAD, BERIPARAO, HALDWANI
DISTRICT- NAINITAL-263136
2022 - 2023
 HALDWANI CAMPUS

THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT MR. Sanjay Bajeli HAS SATISFACTORILY PRESENTED MOOC BASED

SEMINAR. THE COURSE OF THE MOOC REGISTRATION TROPICAL FOREST LANDSCAPES :

CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE SEMINAR

PRESENTATION REQUIREMENT IN FIRST SEMESTER OF BCA DEGREE COURSE PRESCRIBED BY

GRAPHIC ERA HILL UNIVERSITY, HALDWANI CAMPUS DURING THE YEAR 2022- 2023.

Class MOOC-Coordinator

Name- Mrs. Mayurika Joshi

Signature
 HALDWANI CAMPUS

Copy of confirmation Email of registration Received

 HALDWANI CAMPUS

Modules Attended
S. DATE Details of Modules Attended PAGE Signature
NO. NO.
1 28-11-2022 Tropical forest : Importance , opportunities 1
treats

2 04-12-2022 Biodiversity and Characteristics of tropical 2

forests

3 12-12-2022 Livelihoods and conservation 3

4 20-12-2022 Restoration basics and key concepts 4

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to Mrs.

Mayurika Joshi for providing her valuable guidance, support and

suggestions throughout the course of project. I would also like to

acknowledge the contributions of those who individually guided and helped

me in the development of this project.

Sanjay Bajeli

Bajelisanjay07@gmail.com
 WEEK 1: TROPICAL FOREST : IMPORTANC OPPORTUNITIES
TREATS

WHAT ARE TROPICAL FORESTS

 Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: i.e. land areas

which are mostly bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected
by other factors such as prevailing winds.
 Some tropical forest types are difficult to categorise. While forests in temperate areas are
readily categorised on the basis of tree canopy density, such schemes do not work well in
tropical forests . There is no single scheme that defines what a forest is, in tropical
regions or elsewhere. Because of these difficulties, information on the extent of tropical
forests varies between sources. However, tropical forests are extensive, making up just
under half the world's forests. The tropical domain has the largest proportion of the
world’s forests (45 percent), followed by the boreal, temperate and subtropical domains.
 More than 3.6 million hectares of tropical forest was lost in 2018.

IMPORTANCE OF TROPICAL FORESTS

 Global warming is one of the greatest threats to life on our planet. Tropical forests could
be a big part of the solution, by taking CO² out of the atmosphere
 We need to stabilize and reduce CO ² -levels in the atmosphere in order to reduce global
warming. This takes reducing carbon emissions on the one hand, and taking carbon out of
the atmosphere on the other. To accomplish this, natural solutions like preserving and
expanding forests and reducing emissions from land use are absolutely crucial.
 These forests also guarantee fresh water supplies to millions of people living in and
around them.  Tropical forests influence regional rain patterns. They are essential to life
on the planet.
 Without the massive rainforests like the Amazon or the Central African forests, severe
droughts could occur more often.

TROPICAL FORESTS OPPORTUNITIES

 Create a global enabling environment for corporate-governmental

partnerships to prosper, proliferate and help solve tropical deforestation.
 Make tropical forest jurisdictions more bankable and business-friendly
while putting verified emissions reductions to work
 Subnational government partnerships with indigenous peoples and local
 communities

00000000

THREATS TO TROPICAL FORESTS

 The growth of populations in countries with rainforest.

 An increase in worldwide demand for tropical hardwoods has
put a greater strain on the rainforests.
 Cattle Grazing in South America.
 Soya plantations in South America.
 Palm oil plantations in Indonesia.
 Mining.
 Hydroelectric dams in South America.
 WEEK 2: BIODIVERSITY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF
TROPICAL FORESTS

WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity is the variation among living organisms from different sources

including terrestrial, marine and desert ecosystems, and the ecological
complexes of which they are a part.

 Biodiversity describes the richness and variety of life on earth. It is the most complex and
important feature of our planet. Without biodiversity, life would not sustain.
 The term biodiversity was coined in 1985. It is important in natural as well as artificial
ecosystems. It deals with nature’s variety, the biosphere. It refers to variabilities among
plants, animals and microorganism species.
 Biodiversity includes the number of different organisms and their relative frequencies in
an ecosystem. It also reflects the organization of organisms at different levels.
 Biodiversity holds ecological and economic significance. It provides us with
nourishment, housing, fuel, clothing and several other resources. It also extracts monetary
benefits through tourism. Therefore, it is very important to have a good knowledge of
biodiversity for a sustainable livelihood.

TYPES OF BIODIVERSITY

 SPECIES DIVERSITY 
Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular
area

 GENETIC DIVERSITY
It refers to the variations among the genetic resources of the organisms

 ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 
An ecosystem is a collection of living and non-living organisms and their interaction
with each other.
 IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
 Biodiversity is a reservoir of resources for the manufacture of food, cosmetic
products and pharmaceuticals.
 Crops livestock, fishery, and forests are a rich sources of food.
 Wild plants such as Cinchona and Foxglove plant are used for medicinal purposes.
 Wood, fibres, perfumes, lubricants, rubber, resins, poison and cork are all derived
from different plant species.
 The national parks and sanctuaries are a source of tourism. They are a source of
beauty and joy for many people.

 ETHICAL IMPORTANCE
 All species have a right to exist. Humans should not cause their voluntary extinction.
Biodiversity preserves different cultures and spiritual heritage. Therefore, it is very
important to conserve biodiversity.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TROPICAL FORESTS

 Climate

 Very wet with over 2,000 mm of rainfall per year.

 Very warm with an average daily temperature of 28°C. The temperature never drops
below 20°C and rarely exceeds 35°C.
 The atmosphere is hot and humid.
 The climate is consistent all year round. There are no seasons.
 Soil

 Most of the soil is not very fertile.

 A thin layer of fertile soil is found at the surface where the dead leaves decompose.
 It is red in colour because it is rich in iron.
 Due to heavy rainfall the nutrients are quickly washed out of the soil.
 Plants and animals

 The warm and very wet climate provides perfect conditions for plant growth.
 The wide range of plant species supports many different animals, birds and insects.
 Species have adapted to the conditions of the rainforest, eg trees and plants have shallow-
reaching roots to absorb nutrients from the thin fertile layer in the soil.
 Structure of a tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is made up of the following layers:

 ground level
 shrub layer
 under canopy
 (main) canopy
 emergents

WEEK 3: CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION OF TROPICAL FORESTS

Building blocks for tropical rainforest conservation include ecotourism and

rehabilitation. Reforestation and restoration are common practices in certain areas
to try to increase tropical rainforest density. By communicating with the local people
living in, and around, the rainforest, conservationists can learn more about what
might allow them to best focus their efforts. Rainforests are globally important to
sustainability and preservation of biodiversity. Although they may vary in location
and inhabited species of plants and animals, they remain important worldwide for
their abundance of natural resources and for the ecosystem services. It is important
to take into consideration the differing species and the biodiversity that exists across
different rainforest types in order to accurately implement methods of conservation.

CONSERVATION LAW

 The Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act (TFCA)

was reauthorized in 2019, expanding a highly successful “debt-
for-nature” program that has produced tremendous returns on
investment over the last two decades. The bill needs to be
 reauthorized for the long term in 2022. The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) respectfully requests that Congress reauthorize the
legislation and, during the FY23 international conservation
appropriations process, provide $50 million for the TFCA.

 Since first enacted in 1998, the TFCA has offered eligible

countries opportunities to reduce their official concessional debt
owed to the U.S. government while generating funds locally to
conserve biological diversity and protect ecologically and
economically vital forest ecosystems.
 WEEK 4: RESTORATION

DEFINITIONS OF RESTORSTION

Ecological restoration aims to recreate, initiate, or accelerate the recovery of

an ecosystem that has been disturbed. Disturbances are environmental
changes that alter ecosystem structure and function. Common disturbances
include logging, damming rivers, intense grazing, hurricanes, floods, and fires.

RESTORSTION GOALS

Restoration projects differ in their objectives and their methods of achieving

those goals. Some goals of restoration are-
Revegetation- the establishment of vegetation on sites where it has been
previously lost, often with erosion control as the primary goal. For example,
vegetated buffers are strips of vegetation that protect water quality in riparian
ecosystems from urban or agricultural runoff.
Habitat enhancement- the process of increasing the suitability of a site as
habitat for some desired species.
Remediation: improving an existing ecosystem or creating a new one with the
aim of replacing another that has deteriorated or been destroyed.
Mitigation: legally mandated remediation for loss of protected species or
ecosystems.
PROJECT DRAWDOWN - TROPICAL FOREST
RESTORATION

Project Drawdown defines tropical forest restoration as the restoration and

protection of tropical-climate forests. This solution replaces degraded forest in
the tropics.
Tropical forest restoration is widely considered to offer substantial climate
change mitigation opportunities, if conducted at large spatial scales. Despite
this assertion, estimates of how much carbon could be sequestered from the
atmosphere as a result of large-scale restoration are largely lacking. The
international community has pledged to restore 350 million hectares of
degraded forest land by 2030. Thus, efforts to quantify carbon storage over
large spatial scales are timely.
THANK
YOU