FORESTRY

IN INDIA DURING BRITISH ER A

Forestry in India during British Era traces the history of the evolution of scientific forestry in India during the British era (1800-1947). A special emphasis of the narration is on the State of Karnataka, which was under British domination partly directly through the Bombay and Madras Presidencies and somewhat indirectly through the Princely States of Mysore, Hyderabad, Sandur and a few others. Besides describing the developments of forestry together with the circumstances that led to these developments, the book assesses their long-term impact on the forests as we see them today. It provides a graphic account of the birth of the forest departments and the hurdles they had to face in their bid to be effective in guarding the forests – the last vestiges of nature – from the verge of imminent extinction. Forestry in India during British Era has critically examined some of the important causes that led to forest destruction, such as the large-scale expansion of agriculture, the heavy withdrawal of biomass, the extensive shifting cultivation in the Ghat forests, etc. It also objectively analyses what the forestry scenario would have been like today had the process of forest reservation not been zealously initiated about 150 years ago and if these forests hadn’t been steadfastly and arduously guarded by the forest departments throughout these years.

Shri Dipak Sarmah, a retired Indian Forest Service (1977) officer of the Karnataka cadre, started his career in the Western Ghats, serving in the region for more than a decade. He also served in the Government of India as Deputy Adviser, Planning Commission and as Deputy Inspector General of Forests, Forest Policy, MoEF (1991-1995). Later, he served in a number of positions in the Government of Karnataka, including Secretary (Forest), PCCF (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden, superannuating in December 2013 as PCCF (Head of Forest Force). Post retirement, Shri Sarmah assisted the forest department with the preparation of several documents, such as working plans, evaluation reports, cadre review reports, training action plans, etc. He has also assisted the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), Bangalore, in compiling the State of Environment Report (SoER-2015) as chief editor. Shri Sarmah is the author of four books: Status of Forests of Karnataka, Forestry in Karnataka – A Journey of 150 Years, Forests of Karnataka – A Panoramic View and Wildlife Management in Karnataka – A Forester’s Perspective. In 2011, he was nominated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to the Monitoring Committee to supervise mining operations and sale of ore in Karnataka. He continues to serve as the Chairman of the Committee till date. Price 450