The Influence of Forest Management Regimes on Deforestation in a Central Indian Dry Deciduous Forest Landscape

Shivani Agarwal,Harini Nagendra,Rucha Ghate

doi:10.3390/land5030027

Abstract

This research examines the impact of forest management regimes, with various degrees of restriction, on forest conservation in a dry deciduous Indian forest landscape. Forest change is mapped using Landsat satellite images from 1977, 1990, 1999, and 2011. The landscape studied has lost 1478 km2 of dense forest cover between 1977 and 2011, with a maximum loss of 1002 km2 of dense forest between 1977 and 1990. The number of protected forest areas has increased, concomitant with an increase in restrictions on forest access and use outside protected areas. Interviews with residents of 20 randomly selected villages indicate that in the absence of alternatives, rather than reducing their dependence on forests, communities appear to shift their use to other, less protected patches of forest. Pressure shifts seem to be taking place as a consequence of increasing protection, from within protected areas to forests outside, leading to the creation of protected but isolated forest islands within a matrix of overall deforestation, and increased conflict between local residents and forest managers. A broader landscape vision for forest management needs to be developed, that involves local communities with forest protection and enables their decision-making on forest management outside strict protected areas.

Highlights

The densely populated landscapes of India pose a challenge for conservation, with high population densities coexisting with bio-diverse, threatened forests
This study examined the changes in a dry deciduous forest landscape within Maharashtra, India, connecting two important protected areas, the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve and the Pench Tiger
This study demonstrates the importance of the long time series provided by the Landsat satellite images for understanding the long term trends of forest change in India, and of examining the impact of protected areas on forest protection at a landscape scale

Summary

Introduction

The densely populated landscapes of India pose a challenge for conservation, with high population densities coexisting with bio-diverse, threatened forests. Forest protection within and outside protected areas is threatened by high population densities, high levels of poverty, rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization [2]. Protected areas have been the cornerstone of Indian conservation efforts, multiple studies indicate that protected areas have become increasingly isolated [2,3]. Such isolation impacts ecological processes of connectivity that are important for long term species survival and persistence [4,5].

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