i) Reserved forests- Forests are regarded as most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources.
ii) Protected forests- Forest lands are protected from any further depletion.
iii) Unclassed forests- Other forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities.
Reserved and protected forests are also referred to as permanent forest estates maintained for the purpose of producing timber and other forest produce, and for protective reasons. Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan have a bulk of it under protected forests. All North-eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high percentage of their forests as unclassed forests managed by local communities.