(I) Communities have conserved and protected forests and wildlife in India. This can be seen through the following points
(i) The Chipko Movement which was conducted in the Himalayas, has successfully resisted deforestation in several areas. It showed community afforestation with indigenous species to be successful.
(ii) The Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri district of Utarakhand conserved local seed diversity and forests, while defending small farmers and promoting traditional agriculture and knowledge systems.
(iii) In the Sariska wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining activities taking place nearby by citing the Wildlife Protection Act.
(II) Conservation of forest and wildlife was prevalent as nature worship is common among tribal communities and in villages e.g. tulsi plants and banana leaves. Such cultural beliefs helped preserve the plant and animal species. Large-scale people's movement like che Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand and the Narmada Bachao Andolan in Madhya Pradesh indicate involvement of local communities in conserving forests and wildlife.
Thus, all conservation practices and programmes should be eco-friendly, people friendly and economically acceptable.
Developmental projects undertaken by the government should not be at the cost of destruction of forests and loss of people's livelihoods

(a) Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Kerala, Tail Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra have large percentage of reserved forests.
(b) Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests - 75%
(c) Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, and Rajasthan have the large areas of protected forests.
(d) All north-eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high % of unclassed forests.

Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), we can classify as follows -
(a) Normal Species: Their population levels are normal for their survival. E.g. Cattle, sal, pine, rodents, etc.
(b) Endangered Species: They are in danger of extinction as their population is fast dwindling. E.g. Black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass, Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, sangai (brow-antlered in Manipur), etc.
(c) Vulnerable Species: Their population has decreased to the level into endangered category in the near future. E.g. Asiatic elephant, blue sheep, Gangetic dolphin etc.
(d) Rare Species: Species those are very small in number which may become endangered or vulnerable in future. E.g. Hornbill, Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox etc.
(e) Endemic Species: The species that are found only in a particular region and are isolated by natural barriers are called endemic species. E.g. Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig etc.
(f) Extinct Species: These species no longer exist on Earth. The species may be extinct from a local area, region, country, continent or the whole earth. E.g. Asiatic cheetah, pink headed duck etc.

(a) Over-exploitation of natural resources for meeting human needs - Himalayan Yew, a medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. A chemical compound called 'taxol' is extracted from the bark, needles, twigs and roots of this tree and has been used to treat some cancers. The species is under great threat due to over-exploitation.
(b) Large scale hunting of animals for their skin and other products such as antlers and fur.
(c) Deforestation - Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in the northeastern and central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation (jhum), a type of 'slash and burn' agriculture.

(i) Himalayan Yew is a medicinal plant found in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
(ii) A chemical compound called 'taxol' is extracted from the bark, needles, twigs and roots of this tree.
(iii) This has been successfully used to treat some cancers.
(iv) The drug is now the biggest selling anti-cancer drug in the world.
(v) The spices is under great threat due to over-exploitation.
(vi) In the last one decade, thousands of yew trees have dried up in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.