Contents - LAC Biosafety

Drugs: Thousands of chemical compounds with various potential uses are
produced by forest trees and plants. The indigenous system of medicine known
as ‘Ayurveda’ which caters to the health needs of a large proportion of the
population, is dependent on raw materials obtained from the forest. The small
state of Kerala with about a million ha of forest alone uses at least 350 forest
plants or plant products as ingredients of Ayurvedic drugs. In spite of the vast
ancient and modern literature on medicinal plants and their uses, their
potential has not yet been fully utilized.
Spices: India is the legendary home for various spices used across the world.
Most of the spices come from the forests.
Heartwood extractives: Several valuable products are extracted from the
heartwood of certain trees. Examples are ‘katha’ and ‘kutch’ from Acacia
catechu, which are used as masticatory, and teak heartwood oil used against hoof
disease in cattle. Another example is agarwood, a highly prized resinous product
used in perfumery, which is produced in the heartwood of Aquilaria sp., possibly
when infected by a disease of unknown etiology.
Tassar silk and lac: Tassar silk is produced from the cocoons of tassar silk moth
collected from natural forests. Lac, which is used for the manufacture of shellac
and for many other purposes, is produced by the lac insect infesting some tree
species and is both collected from the wild and cultivated.
Tendu leaves: Leaves of the tree Diospyros melanoxylon are used to wrap tobacco
to produce a kind of cigar, known as ‘bidi’. It is a major small-scale industry in
India.
income and employment. This is more important than their commercial value
which nevertheless is not small.
1.7 Contemporary issues in tropical forestry
Deforestation
1.7 Contemporary issues in tropical forestry 29
As pointed out in the Introduction, campaigns against tropical deforestation
have gathered momentum since the 1960s due to increasing recognition
of the environmental benefits conferred by tropical forests. The need to halt
wanton destruction of tropical forest is now well recognized and the
governments of most tropical countries have taken policy decisions to this end.
Because of expanding populations in tropical countries, pressures for diversion
of forest land for urbanization, agriculture etc. will continue to grow and
deforestation is likely to continue although at a reduced pace. In the past,
human civilization and progress entailed clearance of some natural forest,
but unfortunately we cannot scientifically determine how much of the tropical