CPCT Test 14
15 min30 WPM required410 words
Click on the passage and start typing to begin.
The forest department of Madhya Pradesh manages the largest forest area of any state in India, with forests covering approximately 94,689 square kilometres or 30.7 percent of the state's geographical area, encompassing reserved forests, protected forests, and unclassified forests that together support rich biodiversity, provide ecosystem services, and sustain the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on forests for fuelwood, fodder, minor forest produce, and other resources. The management philosophy of India's forest departments has evolved over the decades from the colonial model of strict exclusion of local communities to a contemporary framework that recognises community dependence on forests and seeks to involve communities in protection and management through collaborative institutions. The Van Suraksha Samiti, or Forest Protection Committee, is the primary instrument of joint forest management in Madhya Pradesh, involving villages located on the fringe of forest areas in the protection of their adjacent forest compartment in exchange for a share of the usufruct from the forest and employment in forest works. Madhya Pradesh has a very large number of Van Suraksha Samitis covering extensive areas of forest, and their effectiveness varies considerably depending on the quality of their relationship with the forest department beat guard, the strength of community interest in forest conservation, and the severity of pressure on the forest from grazing, fuel collection, and encroachment. The forest department manages a significant network of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, including Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Satpura, Panna, Sanjay-Dubri, and Bori national parks and reserves, which collectively protect a significant population of Bengal tigers and support a wide diversity of other wildlife. Project Tiger, now restructured as the National Tiger Conservation Authority's tiger reserve programme, funds the intensive management of tiger habitats and the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict in and around tiger reserves. The collection, trade, and transportation of tendu patta, the leaf used to wrap beedi cigarettes and one of the most economically important minor forest products, is regulated and managed by the Madhya Pradesh Minor Forest Produce Cooperative Federation, which collects the leaf through organised plucking by forest-dependent households, processes and sells it to beedi manufacturers, and distributes the proceeds to collectors. Bamboo, mahua flowers and seeds, lac, honey, and medicinal plants are among the other important minor forest products of Madhya Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh forest department has also been active in afforestation and plantation programmes, including compensatory afforestation required by law when forest land is diverted for development projects, and state green belt development programmes.