Vishwajeet Sharma, Thounaojam Bidya Chanu, Manoj Kumar, Chander Shekhar, Nikita Rai5, Tara Chand and Aman Kumar
Abstract
Forestry is essential for maintaining ecological balance as well as supporting livelihood and economic development in a region particularly in tropical and subtropical regions such as India. Yet, uncontrolled deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss represent urgent areas that call for immediate research and management efforts. The paper identifies significant research gaps in the Indian forestry sector, emphasizing areas such as community participation in Joint Forest Management (JFM), revitalizing Preservation Plots, and promoting farm forestry and wood-based industries. It highlights key challenges, including a lack of adequate data and limited stakeholder involvement, which hinder effective community engagement. To address these gaps, the paper advocates for enhanced monitoring systems and targeted raining programs to strengthen the forestry sectorâs sustainability and inclusivity. Preservation Plots, established to monitor dynamics in the forests, receive little maintenance and data gathering, which restrict their capacity to determine the consequences of climate change. In addition, farm forestry improvement is essential to increase the supply of raw materials to feed the growing local economies. FES quantification is the step necessary in most policymaking so that the environmental values are incorporated in the decision-making processes. Investigating effects of climate change impact on shifting tree lines and forest regeneration is an important step for adaptive management. The invasive species and management of forest fires should also be enhanced for sustaining healthy forests. This paper places more emphasis on the type of targeted studies and initiatives on capacity building that would better aid India in producing more sustainable forestry practices leading to greater resilience and resistance in forest ecosystems.