FOREST SOCIETY AND COLONIALISM
DEFORESTATION
Deforestation is cutting down of trees indiscriminately in a forest area. Under
the colonial rule it became very systematic and extensive.
Why Deforestation
As population increased over the centuries and the demand for food
went up, peasants extended the boundaries of cultivation by clearing forests.
The British encouraged the production of commercial crops like jute,
sugar, wheat and cotton for their industries as raw material.
The British thought that forests were unproductive land as they
yielded neither revenue nor agricultural produce. Cultivation was viewed as a
sign of progress.
Oak forests in England were disappearing. There was no timber supply
for the shipbuilding industry. Forest resources of India were used to make ships
for the Royal Navy.
Spread of railways required two things:
land to be cleared to lay railway tracks
wood as fuel for locomotives and for railway line sleepers.
Large areas of natural forests were cleared for tea, coffee and
rubber plantations. Thus land was given to planters at cheap rates.
COMMERCIAL FORESTRY
The
British were worried that the use of forests by local people and the reckless
felling of trees by traders would destroy forests and hence invited German
expert Dietrich Brandis as first Inspector General of Forests in India.
Brandis set up the Indian Forest Service in 1864 and helped formulate the Indian
Forest Act of 1865. The Imperial Forest Research Institute was set up in
Dehradun in 1906. Scientific forestry was taught there. In the scientific
forestry system, forests with different kinds of trees were replaced by
plantations. Forest management plans were made by forest officials. They planned
how much of the forest had to be cut and how much had to be replanted.
The Forest
Acts
divided forests into
·
Reserved
Forest
·
Protected
Forest
·
Village
Forest
The
villagers were dissatisfied with the Forest Acts. They were now forced to steal
wood from the forests. If they were caught, they were punished.
Forest Rules and Cultivation
Shifting cultivation or Sweden agriculture was the agricultural practice in many
parts of Asia, Africa and South America. The colonial foresters did not favour
this system as it made it difficult for the government to calculate taxes. In
addition, the forest officials saw in it the danger of fire and also that no
trees could grow on this kind of land.
Hunting and Forest Laws :
The forest laws forbade the villagers from hunting in the forests but
encouraged hunting as a big sport. They felt that the wild animals were savage,
wild and primitive, just like the Indian society and that it was their duty to
civilise them.
New Trade and New Employment:
New opportunities
opened in trade as the forest department took control of the forests, e.g., the
Mundurucu peoples of the Brazilian Amazon. With the colonial influence trade was
completely regulated by the government. Many large European trading firms were
given the sole right to trade in forest products of a particulate area. Many
pastoral communities lost their means of livelihood. New opportunities of work
did not always mean improved well-being for the people.
FOREST REBELLIONS
Forest communities rebelled against the changes imposed upon them. The people of
Bastar were one such group. The initiative was taken by the Dhurwas of the
Kanger forest where reservation first took place. The British sent troops to
suppress the rebellion. It took them three months to regain control. A victory
for the people of Bastar was that the work on reservation was suspended and the
area was reduced to half.
CHANGES IN JAVA
The Kalangs :
They rose in rebellion against the Dutch in 1770 but their uprising
was suppressed.
Scientific Forestry in Java:
Forest laws were enacted in Java. The villagers resisted these laws.
Forest timber was used for ships and railway sleepers.
The
Dutch government used the ‘balandongdiensten’ system for extracting free labour
from the villagers.
Samin’s Movement :
Samin of Randublatung village (a teak forest village) questioned the
state ownership of forests. A widespread movement spread. They protested by
lying on the ground when the Dutch came to survey it and refusing to pay taxes
and perform labour.
World Wars and Deforestation:
The world wars had a
major impact on forests. The forest department cut freely to meet the British
demands. The Dutch followed the scorched earth policy of destroying saw mills,
burning logs of teak so that the Japanese could not benefit from it. The
Japanese forced the villagers to cut down forests, when they occupied the area.
New Developments:
Conservation and preservation of forests has now become the focus
rather than timber. It has also been realised that if forests are to survive,
the local community needs to be involved. There are many such examples in India
where communities are conserving forests in sacred groves. This looking after is
done by each member of the village and everyone is involved.