The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Book on managing forest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 02, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Book on managing forest

Staff Reporter

"Tribals should participate in conservation"

CHENNAI: Tribals must be involved in the protection of natural resources, agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan said here on Friday.

He was releasing a book, A paradigm shift in joint forest management, authored by S. John Joseph, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Tamil Nadu, and B.S. Nagarajan, professor, Gandhigram Rural University. Dr. Swaminathan said tribals had a bond with nature and should be encouraged to protect forests and wildlife.

The increasing pressures on forests and wildlife posed a great challenge to Forest Department officials. The regulatory process should be strengthened and offences/crimes viewed seriously, he said.

Without initiating stringent action against offenders, it would be difficult to save tigers from poachers, he said. Everyone, including non-governmental organisations and government officials, needed to work in tandem, he said.

J.C. Kala, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Tamil Nadu, suggested the setting up of a Forest Rural Development Agency to cater to the needs of the people living on the fringes of forests. This would help reduce the pressure on forests, he said.

C.K. Sreedharan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project, said forestry had undergone significant changes in the last 150 years. The Forest Department tried to help those living in remote villages by setting up ration shops under the Japanese-aided Afforestation Project. It procured materials and distributed them to the people and tribals.

Mr. Nagarajan said the Gandhigram Rural University set up Village Knowledge Centres to teach children of Standard I-VIII. It benefited tribal children.

S. Ramakrishnan, Secretary, Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection; Sukhdev, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife); A.S. Balanathan; Gautam Dey; Kashmir Singh Dehal; Balan Samson, Additional Principal Chief Conservators of Forests; naturalist S. Theodore Baskaran; and J. Mangalaraj Johnson, chairman, WWF-India, Tamil Nadu, participated.

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