GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA Forest Department Annual Report 2018-19 2500 GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA KARNATAKA FOREST DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - 2019 II INDEX Chapter Page CONTENTS No. No. 1 INTRODUCTION 1-5 ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19 AT A GLANCE 6-7 2 HUMAN RESOURCES 8-12 3 SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT 13 4 METHOD OF EXTRACTION 14 5 DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 15-25 6 SOCIAL FORESTRY 26-28 7 PROJECTS 29-30 8 WORKING PLANS, SURVEY AND DEMARCATION 31-33 9 EVALUATION 34-35 10 FOREST RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 36-40 11 FOREST DEVELOPMENT FUND 41 12 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 42-53 13 COMPENSATORY PLANTATIONS 54-56 14 FOREST CONSERVATION 57-58 15 LAND RECORDS 59 16 FOREST RESEARCH & UTILISATION 60-78 17 FOREST PROTECTION & VIGILANCE 79-81 18 FOREST TRAINING 82-85 19 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY 86-87 20 SAKALA 88-89 21 CENTRAL FOREST LIBRARY 90-91 22 KARNATAKA FOREST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 92-97 23 KARNATAKA CASHEW DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED 97-100 24 KARNATAKA STATE FOREST INDUSTRIES CORPORATION LIMITED 100-102 25 KARNATAKA STATE MEDINICAL PLANTS AUTHORITY (KaMPA) 103-110 III TABLES INDEX Table Page CONTENTS No. No. 1 DISTRICT WISE FOREST AREA IN KARNATAKA DURING 2018-19 111 2 DISTRICT WISE FOREST AREA BY LEGAL STATUS AS ON 2018-19 112 3 NOTIFICATION NO-16016/01/2004-AIS II A 113-119 4 ORGANISATION CHART OF THE DEPARTMENT 120 5 TIMBER AND MAJOR FOREST PRODUCE -2018-19 121 6 RECORDED MINOR FOREST PRODUCE -2018-19 122-123 7 FIREWOOD RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC FOR DOMESTIC AND OTHER USE 2018-19 124 8 SUPPLY OF BAMBOO TO MEDARS AND OTHERS 2018-19 125 9 PLANTATIONS RAISED 2018-19 126 10 PLANTATIONS RAISED FROM TO 2011-12 TO 2018-19 127 11 PROGRESS UNDER STATE SECTOR SCHEMES 128-129 12 PROGRESS UNDER DISTRICT SECTOR SCHEMES 130 13 PROGRESS UNDER CENTRALLY SPONSORED SCHEMES 130 14 PROGRESS UNDER FOREST DEVELOPMENT FUND 131-138 15 FOREST OFFENCE CASES 139-142 16 STAFF POSITION 143 17 REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FROM 2003-04 TO 2018-19 143-144 18 NON-PLAN BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR 2018-19 & REVISED ESTIMES FOR 2019-20 144-145 19 BUDGET PROVISION FOR THE YEAR 2019-20(WORKS COMPONENT) 146-150 20 NO OF VFC'S FORMED 151-152 21 PUBLIC GRIEVENCES, RECEIPTS AND DISPOSALS 153 22 NOTIFICATION AND SEC 4 OF FOREST ACT 1963 DURING 2018-19 154-158 23 &24 OFFICERS ON DEPUITATION AND TRAINING DETALS 159 25&26 DETAILS OF AUDIT REPORT & DETAILS OF LA/LC QUESTIONS DURING 2018-19 160 27&28 DETAILS OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 161 29 PAYMENT OF EX GRATIA FOR DEATH OF HUMAN, COMPENSATION FOR CROP AND CATTLE DAMAGE BY WILDLIFE 162-163 IV Chapter - 1 : Introduction 1 1. INTRODUCTION The state of Karnataka is a part of the highly biodiversity rich regions of India. The state is endowed with great diversity of climate, topography and soils. It spans the seacoast with rich aquatic biodiversity and mangrove swamps at the mouths of estuaries. It harbours verdant tropical evergreen forests, paddy fields, and coconut and arecanut orchards on the narrow coast flanked by the hills of Western Ghats. It bears deciduous woods, scrub jungles, fields of sugarcane, cotton, groundnut, ragi and jowar in the Deccan plateau. The different environmental regimes support their own characteristic set of vegetation and animals. Karnataka supports 10% of about total tiger population and about 25% of elephant population of the country. The state has around Diversity Number of Species Flowering Plants 4500 Birds 600 Reptiles 160 Fish 800 The wealth of diversity of domesticated plants and animals in farms also holds much promise. The hill chain of Western Ghats is known to have greater diversity of wild relatives of cultivated plants than any other region of comparable size in the world. The aquatic biodiversity in Karnataka is very rich and harbors many endemic species. Source: www.aranya.gov.in website Forest Resources Forest Resources are the reserves for wildlife and vegetation in different regions of the nation that have several uses and require proper conservation. Forest Resources relate to the distinctive topography, terrain, wildlife, climate and vegetation of the country. Forest resources in India have always been one of the richest resources. Forests provide renewable natural resources and contribute considerably to the economic development of the nation. Forest plantations comprise a vital part of the forest resources. 2 ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2018-19 Forest Resources provides protection to environment and wildlife. It also enhances water holding capacity of soil and rainfall, helps in gaseous cycles of atmosphere, maintains the soil fertility, checks soil erosion, reduces flood disaster etc. Eventually, people have realised the significance of forests resources and the fact that deforestation threatens the ecology. Thus, people have become more interested and involved in conservation of forest resources in India. Source: www.aranya.gov.in website Forest Types Karnataka is one such state where it has magnificent forests in the India. From the evergreen forests of Western Ghat to scrub or thorny forests in plain areas. 1. Evergreen(Total Area: 4926.02 Sq Km) and Semi-evergreen(Total Area: 1644.20 Sq Km): An evergreen forest is a forest consisting entirely or mainly of evergreen trees that retain green foliage all year round and Semi-evergreen forests are generally considered as a transitional stage between evergreen and moist deciduous forests. These forests are characterised by evergreen trees mixed with deciduous having typical features like less dense canopy, grew gariousness, frequent buttressed trunks, thicker and rougher barks, and heavy climbers. Ex: Dipterocarpus indicus, Hopea parivflora,Myristica fauna, Gymnacranthera canarica, Vateria indica etc., 2. Moist Deciduous(Total Area: 6545 Sq Km): Temperate deciduous forests are located in the areas that has moderate rainfall and temperature and with cold winters. These are the typical monsoon forests in areas where the amount of annual rainfall ranges between 100 cm and 150 cm with mean annual temperature of 24°C to 27°C, and humidity percentage of 60 to 80. They mostly occur along the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, north-eastern part of the Peninsula . teak (Tectona gradis) are commercially the most significant species; occupying the relatively wetter north-eastern parts of the Peninsula. Ex: Terminalia, Largerstroemia, preterocarpus, Xylia, Tectona and Anogeissus etc., 3. Dry Deciduous Forest(Total Area: 8233.24 Sq Km): The tropical deciduous forests shed leaves during December (in Northern Hemisphere) as water becomes scarce. This type is a degraded version of the moist deciduous. It occupies a vast area of the country between moist deciduous Chapter - 1 : Introduction 3 (in the east) and tropical thorn (in the west) forests. Ex: Acacias, Hardwikicia, Neem, Pongamia, Somida, Santalam albam, Ficus etc., 4. Scrub and Thorny Forest(Total Area: 9264.01 Sq Km): These forests are confined to areas where the rainfall is very low. Here due to paucity of rainfall the trees are stunted with large patches of coarse grasses. The typical vegetation consists of widely spaced acacias, euphorbias including the typical spiny and thorny varieties and clumps of wild palms (Phoenix Sylvester’s) here and there. Ex: Acacia species, Balanites roxburghii, Cordia myxa, Capparis spp., Prosopis spp., Azadirachta indica, Cassia fistula, Diospyros chloroxylon, Carissa carandas, and Phoenix sylvestris etc., 5. Un-wooded((Total Area: 12744.00 Sq Km)): These forests are mainly grass lands and waste land. Source: www.aranya.gov.in website Forest area : Karnataka State has a geographical area of 1, 91,791 Sq. Km and the reconstituted expert committee-I formed by Government of Karnataka vide G O No FEE 270 FGL 2002 has identified 43,427.85 Sq.km as total area of forest in Karnataka. The area of Notified Forest is 29,786.75 Sq. Km. The rest is categorised as Protected Forests, Unclassified Forests, Village Forests and Private forests measuring about 13,641.10 Sq. km. Deemed forest areas are not yet notified and they include proposed forests under section-4 of Karnataka Forest Act (KFA)1963, Betta, Bane, Jamamalai, forest poramboke, kan, Kumiki, Paisari, Amritmahal Kaval, Assessed waste lands, Kharab lands, Inam lands, thickly wooded areas, plantations etc., Forest area details are given in Table-1 and Table-2. Our Vision: Conservation, management and development of forests and tree growth, on sustainable basis, for present and future generations. Our Mission: • To Plan, Execute, Coordinate and Monitor the implementation of Forestry and Wildlife programmes to meet people needs and to ensure ecological security and environmental balance, by sustainable management of forests. 4 ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2018-19 • Enhancing the forest and tree cover through peoples participation for meeting people needs and better realization of ecological goods and services. Our Objective: • Protection, Conservation and Consolidation of Forests, Wildlife and Protected Areas (Consolidation of forest areas, protection & conservation of forests, biodiversity and wildlife and habitat improvement) • Qualitative and quantitative enhancement of forests cover in the state (Afforestation, reforestation and regeneration of degraded forests, soil and moisture conservation) • Sustainable management of forests (Sustainable harvest and livelihood support through people’s participation, Capacity building of stakeholders, and Effective delivery mechanisms) • Expansion of tree cover outside forests (Agro/Farm Forestry, Tree improvement, Publicity and Extension) The main functions and responsibilities of the Department: • The Effective implementation of laws and regulations pertaining to forests and wildlife. • Consolidation and preservation of forest land and woodlots. • Habitat development in Protected Areas (P.A.s) and other forest areas including wetlands. • Afforestation and reforestation of degraded forests. • Regeneration of forest areas, including soil and moisture conservation works. • Increasing tree cover outside forest through Farm Forestry, Agro Forestry, Tree Parks, and Urban Woodlots, Roadside / Canal side plantations and School Forestry etc. • Taking appropriate measures to propagate Sandalwood, medicinal plants and R.E.T.