56th Vanamahotsava 2005

Why Vanamahotsava 2005 ? Vanamahotsava, a great festival of tree planting is being celebrated all over India in the First week of July every year. The people of Manipur with the initiative of Forest Department. Manipur is also celebrating the 56th - Vanamahotsava festival 2005 with message to all concerned to love & care for the nature as nature alone is our future sustenance.  The concept of this great festival for the nature lovers was first initiated by (Late) K.M. Munshi, the then Union Minister for Food & Agriculture in the year 1950. It was the vision and wisdom of this great leader that the issue of environmental degradation, unless timely action is taken to prevent & restore, it may go beyond human control & threaten the survival of any living organisms on this earth planet. While survival & development of human being is important, it is also equally important to preserve the nature which is the only source of oxygen and other essentials required for our living. The Forest Department Government of Manipur in spite of having very meager fund allocation to manage the largest natural resources of Manipur have been striving hard to conserve & preserve our natural resources. The Department is taking up various schemes like reforestation of degraded forest land, recreational forestry like Eco-tourism with funding from N.E.C. and improvement of roadside/median and traffic island under its urban forestry programme. Much more is needed to be done so as to keep the Imphal city and other important District Headquarters green. While taking up conservation activities, the socio-economic aspects of the forest & fringe villages cannot be neglected. Therefore, the Department is also taking up various development schemes under its FDAs with funding from the the Govt. of India. The FDAs have been successfully implementing its projects through the duly formed JFMCs in all districts of Manipur. It is expected that this participatory management approach with the villagers, the forest areas in the hills to some extent may be kept under protection. The forest Department Manipur raised seedlings in all the Districts of Manipur for free distribution to the general public for planting in their home-steads & village waste land. The seedlings, if properly planted & protected will go a long way in greening the surroundings & also serve as income generating assets for the family. Therefore, we need to realize that planting trees is not somebody's business, but the business of each & every citizens of India. It is also a fulfillment of fundamental rights as embodied in our Indian constitution. On this special occasion of 56th - Vanamahotsava 2005, we plead to every individuals, clubs, NGOs, & Govt. Agencies to dedicate ourselves to safeguard & protect the ever-increasing deterioration of our environment. Let us have the culture of planting more trees not only for us today but also for the generations to come. TIPS FOR TREE PLANTATION (A) Pattern of planting :- (1) Line planting (2) Square planting (3) Triangular planting (4) Quincunx planting (B) Recommendation pit sizes :- (1) For Normal plantation : 30X30X30 cm (2) For Roadside plantation :  45X45X45 cm (3) For Bamboo plantation :  45X45X45 cm (4) For Rubber plantation : 75X75X75 cm (C) Spacing & numbers of plants Spacing (in m) No. of plants  (per ha) Spacing  (in m) No. of plants (per ha) 1x1 10,000 3.5x3.5 816 1x2 5,000 3.5x4 571 1x3 3,333 3.5x5 571 1x4 2,500 4x4 625 1x5 2,000 4x4.5 555 2x2 2,500 4x5 500 2x3 1,666 4.5x4.5 494 2x4 1,250 4.5x4.5 444 2x5 1,000 5x4 400 2.5x2 2,000 6x6 278 2.5x2.5 1,600 7x7 204 2.5x3 1,333 8x8 156 2.5x4 800 8x8 156 3x3 1,111 10x10 100 3x3.5 952 --- --- 3x4 833 --- --- 3x5 666 --- ---   Where to get seedlings ( Under Vanamahotsava - 2005 ) Sl. No. Name of Division No. of Seedlings raised Name of Nursery Centre 1  D.F.O. Central (a) 50,000  Mantripukhri (b) 30,000  Sawombung (c) 20,000  Pangei 2  D.F.O. Thoubal (a) 20,000  Thoubal Range Office (b) 20,000  Kakching Range Office 3  D.F.O. Bishnupur (a) 18,000  Ningthoukhong (b) 6,000  Bishnupur 4  D.F.O. Kangpokpi (a) 20,000  Saikul (b) 15,000  Kangpokpi (c) 20,000  Kanglatombi (d) 15,000  Sapermeina 5  D.F.O. Ukhrul 50,000  Ukhrul 6  D.F.O. Chandel (a) 20,000  Pallel (b) 20,000  Chandel 7  D.F.O. Senapati (a) 40,000  Mao (b) 20,000  Tungjoy 8  D.F.O. Jiribam 24,000  Jiribam 9  D.F.O. Tamenglong 20,000  Tamei 10  D.F.O. Churachandpur 25, 000  Tuibong   Total :- 4,45,000   * For any seedling requirement, please contact your nearest Divisional Forest Officer concerned.   IMPORTANT SPECIES RAISED FOR DISTRIBUTION  DURING THE VANAMAHOTSAVA 2005 Species Local Name Remarks 1. Acacia auriculiformis Accacia Evergreen/Ornamental tree 2. Artocarpus integrifolia Theibong Fruit tree 3. Callistemon lanceolatus Liklilei Ornamental tree 4. Cassia Javanica Java cassia Ornamental tree 5. Dalbergia Sissoo Sissu Avenue tree 6. Delonix regia Krishna chura Ornamental tree 7. Emblica officinalis heikru Fruit tree/medicinal 8. Eucalyptus spp. Nasik Avenue tree 9. Grevillea robusta  Koubila Ornamental tree 10. Jacaranda Jacaranda Avenue/park/garden tree 11. Lagerstroemia speciosa Jarol Ornamental tree 12. Michelia champaca Leihao Ornamental/Avenue tree 13. Parkia roxburghii Yongchak Fruit tree 14. Pinus kesiya Uchan Avenue/ornamental tree 15. Tamarindus indica Mange Fruit tree 16. Tectona grandis Teak Timber/Avenue tree 17. Terminalia myriocarpa Tolhao Timber/Avenue tree 18. Gmelina arborea Wang Timber/Avenue tree 19. sCHIMA WALLICHII Usoi Fuel wood tree 20. Quercus serrata Uyung Fuel wood tree 21. Azadirachta indica Neem Avenue/Medicinal 22. Aegle marmelos Bel Medicinal/Fruit tree 23. Albizia spp. Uil Ornamental tree 24. Cupressus spp. Cupressus Ornamental tree 25. Acacia menzium Australian teak Timber/Avenue tree   FOREST DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES IN MANIPUR ( Promoting people's involvement in forest Management ) The National Forest policy, 1998 envisages people's involvement in the development and protection of forests. It is one of the essentials of forest management that the forest communities should be motivated to identify themselves with development and protection of forests from which they derived benefits. People's involvement in forest management includes four levels:- (i) Participation in planning and decision making.  (ii) Participation in implementation of projects. (iii) Participation in Monitoring and evaluation. (iv) Participation in sharing benefits. The Government of Manipur by notification have issued constitution of FDAs in all the territorial Forest Divisions of Manipur including one FDA in the wild-life wing of the Forest Department. The Govt. of Manipur also constituted formation of Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC) to participate in regeneration, protection, conservation and management of degraded forests inclusive of unclassed forests. The JFMCs are being registered with the Conservator of Forests of the concerned territorial circle. The main concerned and thrust of FDA project implemented through various registered JFMCs are tree planting, soil & moisture conservation, awareness campaign providing various socio-economic development activities to the village communities through Entry Point Activities (EPA), Monitoring & Evaluation etc. The name of FDAs and JFMCs/EDCs constituted under the Forest Divisions of Manipur are as below:-   PRESENT STATUS OF FDAs AND ITS OPERATIONS Sl. No. Name of FDAs No. of beneficiary families No. of JFMCs Total physical upto target (in Ha) 2006-07 National Afforestation Programme 1. FDA - Bishnupur Forest Division 1262 27 1400 2. FDA - Central Forest Division 4660 24 1900 3. FDA - Thoubal Forest Division 4926 19 1900 4. FDA - Jiribam Forest Division 312 10 1000 5. FDA - Tengnoupal Forest Division 1294 23 1895 6. FDA - Western Forest Division 2897 20 1500 7. FDA - Southern Forest Division 2008 20 1500 8. FDA - Eastern Forest Division 2818 28 1579 9. FDA - Northern Forest Division 1362 22 2000 10. FDA - Senapati Fore st Division --- --- --- 11. FDA - Wild-life Division 425 11-EDCs --- Total 21,964 204 14,674 Jhumia Rehabilitation 1. FDA - Northern Forest Division 6456 34 1500 2. FDA - Southern Forest Division 1079 22 1100 3. FDA - Eastern Forest Division 2818 20 600 Total 10353 76 3200 Grand Total 32,317 280 17,874   Resource Scenario of Bamboo in Manipur As per report of the Forest Survey of India, 1991, the total bamboo growing area of Manipur is 3691.77 sq. kms. Out of which 1591.93 sq. kms is under bamboo brakes and 2099.84 sq. kms is under under-storey bamboo. Of the total bamboo area, 1813.64 sq. km is covered by clump forming bamboo while 1878.13 sq. kms is covered by non-clump forming bamboo. In addition, there are substantial areas under homestead grown bamboo, particularly in the valley. The growing stock of clump forming and non-clump forming bamboo are 8.11 lakh tones and 106.59 lakh tones respectively making a total growing stock of 114.70 lakh tones. Thus the state has about 14% of the total growing stock of bamboo in the country ( the total growing stock in the country is 80.42 million tones.) The Forest Division wise Bamboo growing areas of Manipur is as given below :- Sl. No. District Name District Area in Sq. Km. Forest Division Divnl. Area in Sq. Km. Bamboo Brake area in Sq. Km Under-storey bamboo area in Sq. Km. 1. Senapati 3271.00 Northern Forest Division 3271.00 Negligible 130.00 2. Ukhrul 4544.00 Eastern Forest Division 4544.00 Negligible 125.40 3. Churachandpur 4570.00 Southern Forest Division 4487.67 577.16 760.00 4. Tamenglong 4391.00 Western Forest Division 4063.49 419.24 734.00 5. Jiribam Sub-division 185.00 Jiribam Forest Division 594.84 358.14 120.24 6. Chandel 3313.00 Tengnoupal Forest Division 3313.00 212.39 230.20 7. Thoubal 514.00 Thoubal Forest Division 514.00 10.00 Negligible 8. Bishnupur 496.00 Bishnupur Forest Division 496.00 8.00 Negligible 9. Imphal 1043.00 Central Forest Division 1043.00 7.00 Negligible 22327.00 22327.00 1591.93 2099.84   Gregarious Flowering of Muli Bamboo It is estimated that gregarious flowering of Muli Bamboo (Melocanna baccifera) will occur in area of 1.76 million ha. in the north-eastern states of India between 2004.06. Calculations indicate that about 26 million tones of bamboo will flower and die and is thus available for harvesting before flowering. It is also estimated that about 10 million tones of this bamboo occur in areas that are accessible in the north-eastern areas. There is also an apprehension that such flowering of bamboo will be subsequently followed by famine due to increase in rodent population. Therefore, necessary preventive measures are required to be taken by the state Government. Out of 1590 sq. km of bamboo brake area in Manipur as stated above, systematic and economical harvesting can be done in about 280 sq. km (about 24% of the total area) due to inaccessibility, lack of infrastructure, etc. For regeneration of the area, a detailed composite regeneration plan in the logged over area shall be prepared by the concerned territorial D.F.O's. Action Plan for composite regeneration of 380 sq. km will be as follows :- 1. Regulated natural regeneration (50%) 19,000 ha. 2. Bamboo value added natural regeneration (30%) 11,400 ha. 3. Tree Plantation (broad-leaved species) (20%) 07,600 ha. Total :- 38,000 ha.