Biodiversity conservation has captured the special attention of the world community with the Rio Summit of June 1992. Subsequently, international biodiversity initiatives have started with studies such as Global Biodiversity Strategy (1992), Global Marine Biological Diversity Strategy (1993), Research Agenda for biodiversity (1991) etc. In order to provide appropriate direction and dimension to sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of the components of biodiversity, National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAP) have been prepared under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
The Kerala State, which encompasses the windward side of the southern Western Ghats (WG), is biogeographically the most important State in India. It represents three main centers of endemism: Agasthyamalai, Anamalai and Silent Valley/New Amarambalam. The State represents 95% of the flowering plants and 90% of the vertebrate fauna of the WG, with a high rate of endemism.
The Kerala Forest Department (KFD) controls 29% of the geographical area of the State and has a major role to play in the conservation and management of biodiversity (FSI, 1999). Until the implementation of the National Forest Policy (1988), the management of forests was biased in favour of commercial and-industrial interests, with little importance given to conservation of biodiversity. However, with the recent changes in forest policies, the KFD has recognized the importance of sustainable conservation of biodiversity and adoptive management of forests.
To equip the Department to meet the new challenges in forest management, Kerala Forestry Project (KFP) has been envisaged with .the support of the World Bank. The main objectives of the project are to promote biodiversity conservation, promotion of sustainable production forestry and betterment of people living in and around forested areas. In order to review and monitor the implementation of the biodiversity component of the KFP and to develop a biodiversity conservation strategy for the State, a consultancy has been awarded to the French Institute of Pondicherry.
Political and Forest Administrative Units
The state Kerala has been divided into 14 districts and the capital is Thiruvananthapuram. Except Alappuzha, all other districts have natural forests and the largest area is recorded in Iduki. Forest patches are comparatively less in the districts of Kannur and Kasargod, where the coastal (mangrove) forests are found most.
Prior to re-organization of the State based on languages, the forests of the present Kerala were administered under three regimes viz.., Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. The first account on forest administration and utilization in Travancore region can he seen in the Memoirs of Ward and Corner" prepared during 1816-1820-. The major forest produce utilized in these periods were teak, rosewood, cardamom and wax.
The evolution of forests as a scientific subject and formulation of Policies and legislation started when Dalhousie was the Governor General of India. The legislation (Indian Forest Act) process on forest administration was initiated in 1865. A Department of Forests was constituted at that time and it has been functioning in India since then including in Malabar. The first National Forest Policy was formed h 1894. Based on the recommendations of Bourdillon, a forest ac (Travancore Forest Act) was formed in ii887.
Major developments in the pre-independence management of forests took place during the period of 1901-1940. The opening of Forest College at Kollam during the 1920s, formulation of Wasteland Rules (1923), appointment of Game Warden (1933) and formulation o Cardamom rules (1935) gave considerably legal support to the management of forests. The construction of a Tram Way from Chalakudy to Parambikulam stretching over a length of 80 km was one of the milestones in the history of forest management.
Since 1950, forest management has become more evolved an systematic with measures taken to control soil erosion, appointment of special officer for survey and demarcation, expressing serious concern over encroachment and regularization of all the encroachment till 1.4.1977.
The first step towards wildlife protection in the State was through the formation of Bird Protection Committee in 1953. In 1958 two-wildlife sanctuaries, viz. Neyyar and Peechi-Vazhani were created. Since then the management of forests has been included in Five-Year Plan and forests were utilized for increasing agriculture production.
In order to extend the activities and meet the general and specific objectives of the KFD the administration units are broadly divided into, territorial, and functional divisions such as social forestry, extension, vigilance & flying squad, timber sales, working plan and research, and special divisions. There are 23 territorial divisions with one special division (Mankulam), 11 wildlife divisions, 14 social forestry divisions, 6 timber sales divisions, 7 working plan divisions, 2 research divisions, 2 extension divisions and 8 flying squad divisions. In addition to this, there are two training schools (Arippa and Walayar) and one training centre (Arippa). The Special Investigation and Protection wing of the forest department has been renamed as Rapid action Force incorporating police personnel.
VEGETATION TYPES AND STATUS
The Kerala State, with a diverse topography and bioclimatic, has different vegetation types. KFD in their management/working plans, traditionally follows Champion and Seth's (1968) classification system, which was proposed for the entire country. Considering the scale of work, this classification is inadequate regarding details of habitat diversity, when applied at the regional level. The FIP classification system developed for the WG reflects the dynamics and succession of vegetation; under 'natural' and 'disturbed' regimes, and thus gives a better insight into the diversity of habitats and their status in Kerala.
Vegetation types
The natural forests of Kerala are classified into 13 climax floristic types. Wet evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous climax types are clearly distinguished by the mean annual rainfall, whereas low, medium and high elevation wet evergreen types are distinguished by the decrease in minimum temperature with increasing altitude.
Wet evergreen and semi-ever green climax forests
In Kerala, wet evergreen forests are mostly found all along the windward side of the WG, and they are confined to this region where the rainfall is above 2000 mm. All these types are classified into low (0-800 m), medium (800-1450 m) and high (1400-1800 m) elevation ranges and montane forests (>1800 m)
Grasslands
In Kerala, grasslands are generally found above 1500 m and called as 'shrub-savannas', characterized by a number of herbaceous and shrubby species mixed with grasses. The grasslands adjacent to medium or high elevation evergreen forests are often found with sparse trees.
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