Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Memorial Lecture: II

maintaining the health of the concerned forests, and that too, not more than the Mean
Annual Increment (MAI). The restoration and repair of such areas has to be done with
local and indigenous species, and on no account should exotics ever be introduced in
the conservation areas.
Conservation forestry benefits all people because it is linked to the stabilization of
micro-climate, conservation of soil, water and biodiversity, source of non-wood products
and other amenities.
Agro-forestry
Here the objective is the integration of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry
to meet food, fuel and fodder needs through a well chalked out Agri-Silvi-Pastoral, Agribasic
idea is to aim at the intensification and diversification of biomass production in
rural areas.
There should be no objection to the use of exotic trees in agroforestry, if their use
is warranted on the grounds of landuse and end-use to meet the needs of locationspecific
edaphic conditions and the demand of the local population, respectively. Here,
the beneficiaries are the rural and urban poors whose needs of fuelwood and small
timber are also met and it may serve as a source of some income as well. Agro- forestry
practiced on a sustainable basis would ultimately relieve pressure on natural forests and
thereby help in forest conservation.
Industrial Forestry
Here, the objective is to meet the needs of timber, pulpwood and fiber. It is a
commercial venture based on wood quality and input-output considerations. The
objective has to be tree-crop farming. The immediate clients are wood-based industries.
Industrial forestry has to be related to land use and end use considerations. Since there
are commercial ventures, production and productivity are chief consideration, and if
warranted on other grounds, fast growing exotics are also welcome.
India can afford to be oblivious to the needs of industrial/commercial forestry only
at the cost of ecological security. Industrial forestry should not be ignored on emotional
considerations. Realism demands that there be a crash programme on industrial
forestry in order to save our forest wealth.
Suggestions regarding the import of timber, firewood, pulpwood, etc., can only
help to avert the most critical immediate situation but do not offer a permanent solution,
for more reasons than one. Firstly, they only help to shift forest degradation to other
countries (most probably developing ones) which is not ethical. Secondly, the kind of
money required for import may not always be available. Thirdly, wood can become a
political weapon like food and oil, and its prices will keep soaring. The best strategy
would be to give very high priority to industrial forestry and take steps to extend all help
by suitable modification of land laws, etc.
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