Forest Resources of Jharkhand, Eastern India …
67
3 Forest Resources of Jharkhand
There are high levels of poverty in Jharkhand, with an estimated 44% of the state
population living under the national poverty line (The World Bank 2007). Forests
play an important role in the economic, cultural and social lives and supporting
rural livelihoods and food security in Jharkhand and provide a wide spectrum of
livelihoods for tribal communities in the form of direct employment (engagement
in forest department, rural development, agriculture and co-operatives, etc.). Jharkhand has been blessed with plentiful natural resources such as minerals with over
40% of the country’s total reserves, forests, fauna, water resources etc. due to it’s
favourable climatic and topographic conditions (Kumar and Saikia 2018). Forest
is an important economic sector contributing a significant amount to the Indian
economy. Forest based industries contribute 1.2% of India’s Total Gross Domestic
Product (Economic Survey, MoF 2011). Forests form a dominant part in the physical, economic and spiritual lives of human population (Byron and Arnold 1999).
Agriculture constitutes the main source of livelihood among tribes in India playing
a vital role in national economy, rural development, employment and occupation,
agro-industries, food and nutrition security, growth and survival, social, economic
and cultural conditions and poverty alleviation (Surayya et al. 2008). Forestry is the
second largest land use in India after agriculture covering 21.54% of the total geographical area of the country (FSI 2017).The forest vegetation of Jharkhand varies
from rich Sal forests to miscellaneous mixed forests and sparsely covered grassland.
The floral composition comprises a wide variety of trees, shrubs, herbs, bamboos,
grasses, lianas, climbers, creepers, runners etc. and sal dominates with 55% of the
total growing stock. Jharkhand is home to tropical moist deciduous and tropical
dry deciduous forests, and the dominant trees are S. robusta Gaertner f., Terminalia
franchetii var. tomentosa W. Nanakorn, Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia (Roxb.) A.
Chev., Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb, Adina cordifolia (Roxb.) Brandis, Diospyrus
tomentosa, Buchanania cochinchinensis (Lour.) Almeida, Semecarpus anacardium
with occasional bamboo brakes. The common shrubs are Holarrhena antidysentrica,
Nyctanthes arbortristis, Randia sp., Casearia species. Indigofera pulchella, Carissa
opaca, Wendlandia tinctona, Woodfordia fruitcosa, Croton oblongifolius, Zizyphus
sp. and Phoenix sp. Similarly, grasses consist of Heteropogon contortus, Eulalioopsis binata and common climbers are Bauhinia vahilli, Acacia piñata, Butea superba,
Milletia auriculata, Smilax sp. The forests of Jharkhand harbour a rich and varied
wildlife comprising mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The dependency on forests is very high because there are 17 tribal districts out of the total 24
(FSI 2017). Jharkhand ranks 6th in terms of scheduled tribe population and 10th in
terms of percentage share of the scheduled tribe population to the total population of
the state (Jharkhand Economic Survey 2016–17) and tribal people depend mainly on
forests and forests products. Tribes and forests have the symbiotic relationship (Saha
and Sengupta 2014). Rural families use diverse portfolios of activities to meet basic
needs and to improve their standards of living (Ellis 1998). NTFPs play an important
role in the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban people across the globe (Areki
67
3 Forest Resources of Jharkhand
There are high levels of poverty in Jharkhand, with an estimated 44% of the state
population living under the national poverty line (The World Bank 2007). Forests
play an important role in the economic, cultural and social lives and supporting
rural livelihoods and food security in Jharkhand and provide a wide spectrum of
livelihoods for tribal communities in the form of direct employment (engagement
in forest department, rural development, agriculture and co-operatives, etc.). Jharkhand has been blessed with plentiful natural resources such as minerals with over
40% of the country’s total reserves, forests, fauna, water resources etc. due to it’s
favourable climatic and topographic conditions (Kumar and Saikia 2018). Forest
is an important economic sector contributing a significant amount to the Indian
economy. Forest based industries contribute 1.2% of India’s Total Gross Domestic
Product (Economic Survey, MoF 2011). Forests form a dominant part in the physical, economic and spiritual lives of human population (Byron and Arnold 1999).
Agriculture constitutes the main source of livelihood among tribes in India playing
a vital role in national economy, rural development, employment and occupation,
agro-industries, food and nutrition security, growth and survival, social, economic
and cultural conditions and poverty alleviation (Surayya et al. 2008). Forestry is the
second largest land use in India after agriculture covering 21.54% of the total geographical area of the country (FSI 2017).The forest vegetation of Jharkhand varies
from rich Sal forests to miscellaneous mixed forests and sparsely covered grassland.
The floral composition comprises a wide variety of trees, shrubs, herbs, bamboos,
grasses, lianas, climbers, creepers, runners etc. and sal dominates with 55% of the
total growing stock. Jharkhand is home to tropical moist deciduous and tropical
dry deciduous forests, and the dominant trees are S. robusta Gaertner f., Terminalia
franchetii var. tomentosa W. Nanakorn, Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia (Roxb.) A.
Chev., Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb, Adina cordifolia (Roxb.) Brandis, Diospyrus
tomentosa, Buchanania cochinchinensis (Lour.) Almeida, Semecarpus anacardium
with occasional bamboo brakes. The common shrubs are Holarrhena antidysentrica,
Nyctanthes arbortristis, Randia sp., Casearia species. Indigofera pulchella, Carissa
opaca, Wendlandia tinctona, Woodfordia fruitcosa, Croton oblongifolius, Zizyphus
sp. and Phoenix sp. Similarly, grasses consist of Heteropogon contortus, Eulalioopsis binata and common climbers are Bauhinia vahilli, Acacia piñata, Butea superba,
Milletia auriculata, Smilax sp. The forests of Jharkhand harbour a rich and varied
wildlife comprising mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The dependency on forests is very high because there are 17 tribal districts out of the total 24
(FSI 2017). Jharkhand ranks 6th in terms of scheduled tribe population and 10th in
terms of percentage share of the scheduled tribe population to the total population of
the state (Jharkhand Economic Survey 2016–17) and tribal people depend mainly on
forests and forests products. Tribes and forests have the symbiotic relationship (Saha
and Sengupta 2014). Rural families use diverse portfolios of activities to meet basic
needs and to improve their standards of living (Ellis 1998). NTFPs play an important
role in the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban people across the globe (Areki