ISSN: 2445 – 7781 51st Year of Publication Since 1964 ISSN: 2445 – 7781 MyForest – A Quarterly Journal of Forestry and Allied Sciences Published by Karnataka Forest Department MyForest Quarterly Journal of Forestry & Allied Sciences Karnataka Forest Department Vol. 51 September – December 2015 Issue Nos. 3-4 Registered under Registrar of Newspapers for India No. R. N. 13275/65 Printed at Brilliant Printers Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru MyForest JOURNAL MANAGING COMMITTEE 9. References Chief of Editorial Board Chief Editor Editors References should not be from unpublished source. Author names should be arranged R. S. Suresh, IFS Sanjai Mohan, IFS Manjunath C. Tambakad, IFS alphabetically. Reference quoting should be as follows: Principal Addl. Principal Chief Conservator Chief Conservator Papers Chief Conservator of Forests of Forests Research of Forests, HoFF Research and Utilisation Bengaluru - 560 076 Kushalappa K. A. (1988). Comparative-Biomass of Acacia auriculiformis and Leucaena Bengaluru - 560 003 Bengaluru - 560 076 leucocephala trees from moist region in Karnataka. MyForest 2:12-15. S.T. Muralidhara Books ACF, Forest Utilisation Bengaluru - 560 076 Soltis D. R. and Solts P. S. (1990). Isozymes in Plant Biology, London, Chapman and Hall. Honorary Editor 10. All common/local names should suffixed with Botanical/zoological/Scientific names. Dr. K. R. Keshava Murthy 11. All pages should be numbered (including pages containing the title, author names and affiliation, Email: [email protected] foot notes, absfac., acknowledgements, references, tables and figure captions). All views, comments, reviews, hypothesis, findings etc. of authors published in the journal reflect Annual Subscription Rates the view of authors and are not the official view of either the editors/editorial board ofMyForest Office and Institutions Rs. 200/- Journal or of the Karnataka State Forest Department. Individuals Rs. 100/- 12. The decisions of the editors to accept or reject the article for publication n the journal is final. The Postal Charges Extra editors have the right to abridge/edit the articles. Karnataka Forest Officers Gratis The articles complete in all respects should be sent to: Advertisement Rates : (The rates are liable to change WITHOUT NOTICE). Publishing The Editor the advertisement matter is strictly with the approval of the Managing Committee) MyForest and Chief Conservator of Forests Research 1st Cross, Arekere - MICO Layout Four Insertions Casual Doresanipalya, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru 560 076 Space (One Year) (Per Insertion) Phone: 080-2658 7663 Full Page 1,500/- 400/- E-mail: [email protected] Half Page 1,000/- 275/- Quarter Page 925/- 250/- 2.5 cm Across 700/- 200/- Subscriptions, Advertisement matter and related enquiries to be sent to: The Editor, MyForest and Chief Conservator of Forests, Research and Utilisation 1st Cross, Arekere MICO Layout Doresanipalya Forest Campus, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru - 560 076 Phone : 080-2658 7663 Email: [email protected] My Forest Published by Karnataka Forest Department Abstracted by ‘Forestry Abstracts’ and ‘Forest Products Abstracts’ at Commonwealth Forestry Bureau Front Cover : Machali – Photo Courtesy : Dr. Dharmendra Khandal the enchanting tigress Ranthambore of Ranthambore Back Cover : Habenaria longicorniculata Photo Courtesy : Dr. K.R. Keshava Murthy J. Graham Contents Sl. No. Particulars Authors Page No. 1. Forest Rights Act – Its Perspective and N. L. Shanthakumar, IFS 01-06 Implementation 2. Pressure on Rain Forests in B. K. Singh, IFS 07-10 Chirapunji of Karnataka 3. A sampling Model for Assessement of Dr. S. Ramesh 11-13 Population and Regeneration Status of Different Species in Forest Area 4. Siddarabetta in Tumakuru District, V. Bhaskar and 15-36 Karnataka – A Rich Biodiversity Heritage C. G. Kushalappa Site and the Hill that Heals 5. Morphological Variation in Culm and Ajay D. Rane, Sowmya C. 37-46 Clump Characteristics in Natural Ashwini S., Sruthi S. and Populations of Pseudoxytenanthera S. Viswanath Stocksii (Munro) T.Q. Nguyen (Marihal Bamboo) in Central Western Ghats 6. Preliminary Survey on Diversity of A. Muthu Kumar 47-56 Wood-inhabiting Fungi in Makutta, A Low Latitude Rain Forests of Karnataka (India) 7. Preliminary Assessment of Genetic Annapurna Dhavala 57-61 Diversity of Melia Dubia using Geeta Joshi, Arunkumar A. N. Microsatellite Markers Sreedevi C. N. and Aparna Rajan 8. House Sparrows S. G. Neginhal, IFS 63-64 9. Need for DNA Barcoding – A Tool Tanzeem Fatima 65-69 for Certification and Wood Forensics Ashutosh Srivastava in India Vageeshbabu S. Hanur M. Srinivasa Rao and N. Mohan Karnat 10. Is Controlling Forest Fires Dr. B. Raghotham Rao 71 Harmful in the Long Run? Desai, IFS 11. Brief Note on Recently Acquired S. Usha Kumari 72-73 Books in Central Forest Library Centre 12. MYFOREST 50 Years Ago 75 13. Aerial Survey of Malnad undertaken Sri B. Vaikunta Baliga 77-79 on 30th December 1964 14. Sharavathi Valley Project and N. V. Ramachandra Chetty 81-90 the Forests ii Editorial The last quarterly issue for the year 2015 is being released which is for the months from September to December 2015. After this, we intend to come out with a special 2016 issue in which four quarterly issues will be merged and is likely to be published in April 2017. We should then hopefully, come out with regular quarterly issues. We need your cooperation in sending articles for publishing in My Forest. Karnataka once again bagged the fourth position in the medal tally in the 23rd National Forest Meet held at Hyderabad from 7th to 11th January. A total of 101 medals which included 39 gold were won. It was followed by Chhattisgarh with 97 medals. Last year too, Karnataka had won the overall championship and with home advantage, they had a huge haul of 46 gold with 115 overall medals. The third bird festival of Karnataka was organized at Hampi in the first week of January 2017. Many states in the country have started such festival. Uttarkhand had the first ever bird festival in 2014. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Research and Utilisation Bengaluru iii My Forest – September – December 2015 “The tiger is a large hearted gentleman with boundless courage and that when he is exterminated – as exterminated he will be, unless public opinion rallies to his support – India will be the poorer by having lost the finest of her fauna”. – Jim Corbett Save Forests Save tigers Karnataka Forest Department iv My Forest – January-JuneMy Forest 2016 – September – December 2015 Vol. 51 (Issue 3-4), Page 01-06 FOREST RIGHTS ACT – ITS PERSPECTIVE AND IMPLEMENTATION N. L. Shanthakumar, IFS Introduction envisages the benefits to be extended to the OTFD who are not really Tribes but 1. The Schedule Tribe (ST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) (Recognition of their livelihood is mainly dependent on Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly called Forests. Extending the benefits of the FRA to as Forest Rights Act (FRA) was enacted OTFDs is bone of contention in the with the basic objective of mitigating implementation of FRA especially in the injustice done to the Forest dwelling Karnataka. As far as STs are concerned, Scheduled Tribes and sustainability of the there is no hiccup in the implementation forest ecosystems. While the forests rights of FRA and in the present situation in on ancestral land and their habitat were not Karnataka, there is a lot of hue and cry in adequately recognized in the consolidation extending the benefits of the provisions to of state forests during the colonial period OTFDs under FRA. as well independent India, resulting in historical injustice to the forest dwelling Recognizing the Forest Rights of STs ST and OTFD. Hence, the Government of India passed Forest Right Act (FRA) 2. It is imperative that there is no need to to address the long standing insecurity of discuss in detail about extending the tenurial and access rights of forest dwelling provisions of the forest rights under FRA ST and OTFD including those who were in respect of STs. Constitutionally STs are forced to relocate their dwelling due to defined and the list of STs in each state Development interventions. is specified and notified by the central government. There is no confusion for Even though the broad objective and scheme providing evidence to prove ST tag. The of the FRA is for addressing the long felt other eligibility criterion required for demands of the Forest Dwellers, these recognizing the Forest Rights to STs, being objectives of FRA would definitely apply the cut-off date (13/12/2005) which would in full spirit not only in respect of STs and be obtained from the concerned records also to OTFDs. It is true that there were provided by the claimant. More so, there many tribal people living in the forests, their are many options provided in Rule 13 of rights of housing and cultivation were not properly settled at the time of constitution FRR to produce the records for evidence of Reserve Forest/State Forest under purpose. Hence the ST claimant has State/Central Forest Act. FRA has not to produce at least a minimum of two only extended the benefits to STs it is also evidences to claim for the forest rights. Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka State Forest Department. 1 My Forest – September – December 2015 Recognizing the Forest Rights of OTFDs dwelling houses or outside the forest or forest land. Therefore, such STs and OTFDs 3. As far as OTFD are concerned, the definition who are not necessarily residing inside the under FRA itself is not very clear OTFD is defined under Sec. 2 (O) of FRA and it forest but are depending on the forest for is as follows: their bonfire livelihood needs would be covered under the definition of “forest “OTFD means any member or community dwelling scheduled tribes” and other who has for at least three generation prior traditional forest dwellers as given in Sec.