In India , much of its forest and wildlife resources are either owned or managed by the g overnment through the Forest Department or other government department s. These are classified under the following categories .
Reserved Forests
- Out of total forests more than half have been declared reserved forests .
- Reserved Forests are regarded as the most valuable.
- As the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned.
- Jammu and Kashmir , Andhra Pradesh, Uttrakhand , Kerala , Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra have large percentages of reserved forests of its total forest area.
Protected Forests
- Almost one-third of the total forest area is protected forest.
- This forest land is protected from any further depletion.
- Bihar , Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh , Odisha and Rajasthan have a bulk of forests under protected forests.
Unclassed Forest
- These refer to forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities .
- All North-eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high percentage of their forests as unclassed forests managed by local communities.
