Wood residues – the materials left over when trees are logged and processed – hold the potential to support resource-efficient energy access, revitalize rural economies and help mitigate climate change,
Forest certification is a market-based instrument that aims to encourage sustainable forest management for the multiple values of the forest beyond timber, to include non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and services, social and cultural values and future options.
The Maharashtra Forest Policy 2008 aims at raising forest cover in the state to a minimum of 33% (101.54 lakh hectares) of total land, as per the recommendations of the Planning Commission and the National Forest Policy, 1988. At present, the forest area in the state is around 20 per cent. Of this 56 per cent is in Vidarbha, five per cent in Marathwada and 39 per cent in western Maharashtra.
Despite being located in the seismically highly vulnerable region, Uttarakhand shows an elaborate tradition of constructing multistoried houses. Both the local dialects of the region (Kumaoni and Garhwali) have unique words for identifying four different floors of a building. This suggests common occurrence of multistoried structures in the region. Rajgarhi area, Uttarkashi District has a large number of intact multistoried
This paper estimates the impact on local household livelihoods of the Natural Forest Protection Programme (NFPP), the largest logging ban programme in the world that aims to protect watershed and conserve natural forests.
An eco-friendly wood preservative developed by the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), using cashew nut shell liquid, was launched recently at the ITI. The novel formula that represents the third generation of wood preservatives is entirely organic and easy to prepare. This wood preservative was found to be effective against termites, micro-organisms responsible for wood rot, and fungi which cause decay, when evaluated on wood samples treated with this solution.
Once upon a time, houses made of wood inhabited real spaces and not the glossy confines of lifestyle magazines. The states of Kerala, Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, blessed with abundant timber, were particularly known for their refined architectural traditions in wood.
Funds generated through community forestry offer crucial and significant resources for rural development in Nepal. This study examines forestry funds in 100 communities in three districts to assess how large they are and how they are utilized. The study finds that the income from community funds increases local development resources by about 25%. This income is invested
Forest minister J.P. Nadda today said the government would soon review the policy for exporting Khair wood and kuth to help protect the economic interests of the farmers. Presiding over a meeting of senior officers to review the functioning of the Forest Department here he said the government would consider relaxing the restriction on export of Kuth and take effective steps for proper management and exploitation of herbal plants. It would also take a decision regarding the rights of ownership on the trees grown on uncultured land, after considering all related aspects into consideration and in consultation with the Revenue Department. He said steps would be taken to exploit the state's immense potential for eco-tourism to help generate self-employment avenues for unemployed youth. Referring to the plans to deal with the monkey menace, Nadda said the government had decided to set up two primate protection parks and a number of centres for mass sterilisation of the animals, which were not only creating nuisance in towns but also causing extensive damage to crops in villages. He said a sterilisation centre was already operational at Tutukandi in Shimla and two more would be set up at Gopalpur in Kangra district and Tal in Hamirpur district at a cost of Rs 2.6 crore. He said these centres would be made operational within six months and a target had been set up for sterilising 5,000 monkeys in two years at each centre. The forest minister said the primate protection parks would be set up on the lines of Asola wildlife sanctuary in Delhi. One such park would be started next month at Tara Devi near Shimla, whereas, the other would be set up at Jheen in Hamirpur district. He said Rs 1.51 crore would be spent on the construction of each park. Youth were being imparted training for catching monkeys so that they could earn from the government scheme. He said encouraging cultivation of herbal plants on commercial scale could strengthen economy and the effort would be that each family in the local panchayat was associated in the venture. He said the Forest Department would develop plant nurseries in every district depending upon the climatic condition and mater would be discussed with the Ayurveda Department. He said peoples' participation was an important aspect of forest management and asserted that policy decisions should be taken keeping in view the public grievances. He said regular discussions would be held with field the officers for effective implementation of projects. Additional chief secretary, forests, Avay Shukla, gave a detailed account of the activities of the department. He said the policies were framed keeping in view the public interest.
Often termed as poor man's timber, bamboo, with its various new applications can well be an alternative housing solution for the earthquake prone areas due to its high tensile strength structurally. Exploring the use of bamboo as an alternative to the rapidly depleting wood resources in housing and other industrial activities, a three-day residential training programme on modern bamboo structures and housing will be organised at Kohra, Kaziranga National Park from March 6 to 8, 2008. The programme is jointly organised by Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre and Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. The programme aims to provide technical know-how on the use of the bamboo technology as a whole, particularly in the housing sector and in varied structural applications. "For the first time a workshop of such magnitude on bamboo technology is being organised in Kaziranga dealing with the new applications of bamboo other than the traditional use,' said the sources in the CBTC. The programme, targeting the civil engineers, architects, consultants, builders, developers contractors, entrepreneurs and NGOs among others, would have partici-pants mainly from North East as well as neighbouring Nepal. The training programme would elaborately deal with the topics including bamboo of NE India, availability and suitability for building construction, the structure of bamboo and its mechanical and engineering properties, durability and preservation of bamboo, code an standards bamboo in building construction, bamboo structures for eco-tourism and earthquake prone areas, introduction to bamboo applications for industrial and housing materials, engineered bamboo products and its usefulness in housing industry, bamboo construction for rural housing and bamboo policies and impact on national and regional developmental issues. In order to tap the abundant bamboo resources of the North East; the North Eastern Council (NEC) launched the North East Regional Bamboo Mission aimed at sustainable development of the bamboo sector. The CBTC, established in 2000 is a registered body under the auspices of the NEC, which is carrying out the mandate of the North East Bamboo Mission since October 2004. The CBTC has now undertaken a wide range of bamboo constructions in and around the NE region both in public and private sectors. On the other hand, the BMTPC is actively involved in developing bamboo-based technologies and promoting those technologies in the bamboo growing areas including the North East.
Hundreds of millions of people live and work in forests across the world. One vital aspect of their lives, yet largely unexamined, is the challenge of protecting and enhancing the unique relationship between the health of forests and the health of people.
