6. Forests, Wildlife and Environment - Tamil Nadu Government
6. Forests, Wildlife and Environment - Tamil Nadu Government
6. Forests, Wildlife and Environment - Tamil Nadu Government
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<strong>6.</strong>1.1. Introduction<strong>6.</strong>1. <strong>Forests</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Wildlife</strong>Eat your food to satisfy your hunger, <strong>and</strong> drink tosatisfy your thirst. Satisfy the necessities of life likethe butterfly that sips the flower, without destroyingits fragrance or texture- Lord BuddhaThe forest is a complex ecosystem consisting mainly of trees that bufferthe earth <strong>and</strong> support a myriad of life forms. The scientific reasons for theneed to protect forest for the benefits of mankind is well known. The Jainism<strong>and</strong> Buddhism are celebrated as the first religion to propagate rational thinking<strong>and</strong> ethical values. Saint Vardaman preached that materialism <strong>and</strong> religionare interwined <strong>and</strong> the plants <strong>and</strong> birds have life. Gautama Buddha preachedagainst killing of living beings. Buddha attained bliss under the tree afterrenouncing the nation <strong>and</strong> w<strong>and</strong>ering through the forests. Two thous<strong>and</strong>years before, <strong>Tamil</strong>s have classified l<strong>and</strong>s into five categories <strong>and</strong> named theforestl<strong>and</strong>s as ‘Mullai’. The Arthasastra written during the Mauryan ruleclassified forests into three <strong>and</strong> framed rules to protect them. The trees helpcreate a special environment which, in turn, affects the kinds of animals <strong>and</strong>plants that can exist in the forest. Trees are an important component of theenvironment. They clean the air, cool it on hot days, conserve heat at night,<strong>and</strong> act as excellent sound absorbers. People began life on this Planet asforest dwellers. They were food gatherers <strong>and</strong> depended on the forest for alltheir needs: food, clothing, <strong>and</strong> shelter. They gradually became food growers,clearing a small patch in the forest to grow food. But they continued to dependon forests to meet many of their needs. Even today people depend on theforest for paper, timber, fuel wood, medicine, <strong>and</strong> fodder.<strong>Tamil</strong> <strong>Nadu</strong> State is spread over a geographical area of 1,30,058 sq.kms.It has a recorded forest area 22,877 sq. kms. accounting for 17.59% of its totalgeographical area. The Forest cover in the State is 22643 sq. kms. i.e., 17.41%<strong>and</strong> tree cover in the State is 4991 sq. kms. i.e., 3.84%. Total Forest cover <strong>and</strong>Tree cover in the State is 27634 sq. kms. which is 21.25% of the geographicalarea of <strong>Tamil</strong> <strong>Nadu</strong>. This proportion is very much below the National ForestPolicy stipulation of 25% by 2007 <strong>and</strong> of 33.33% by 2012 <strong>and</strong> also below the243
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