Question

Forest officer who initiated people's participation in forest management was

• A. Banerjee
• B. Basu
• C. Bahuguna
• D. Tripathi

Answer 1

The correct option is A Banerjee

In 1972, the forest department realized its mistake while reviving the degraded sal forests of Arabari forest range. Arabari forest lies in Midnapore district of West Bengal. The earlier methods of policing and surveillance were a total failure as they often led to frequent clashes with local people. It also led to alienation of people from the conservation programme. Then a forest officer, named A K Banerjee involved the local people in the revival of 1,272 hectares of forest. In lieu of that the villagers were given employment in silviculture and harvest and were given 25% of the harvest. They were also allowed to gather firewood and fodder against a nominal payment. Due to active participation of the local community there was remarkable revival of the Arabari sal forest. By 1983, the value of the forest rose to Rs. 12.5 crores.

Therefore, the correct answer is option A.