Book release on "Joint Forest Management":
A book on Joint Forest Management for Biodiversity Enhancement written by Dr. S. Balaji, I.F.S., Director of Environment was released at the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. Releasing the book, the Minister for Forests and Environment, Thiru R. Vaithilingam said that the author has scientifically proved that an afforestation programme would help in improving biodiversity. The eminent agricultural scientist Dr. M.S Swaminathan received the first copy of the book. He said the protection of bio-diversity was not only the responsibility of the Government, the people's participation becomes an important component in the conservation of the environment. Thiru Ajay Bhattacharya, I.A.S., Secretary to Government, Environment and Forests, Government of Tamil Nadu said the importance of conserving biodiversity for economical and medicinal purposes and appreciated and thanked the dedication of Forest Department officials for the success of Joint Forest Management. Dr. K.T. Parthiban, Associate Professor, TNAU, Mettupalayam felicitated Dr. S. Balaji, I.F.S., Director of Environment for his valuable publication on methodologies for assessing biodiversity. The 14 chapter book contains details on forest conservation, a global and national review of Joint Forest Management, role of bio indicators, the evolution of biodiversity and case studies of areas practicing Joint Forest Management. Methodologies like Species-richness indices, Shannnon-weiner index and Simpson index were discussed in detail. The book has 49 tables, 27 figures and 9 appendices and exhaustive 365 references on JFM and Biodiversity. This book will be useful for the forest administrators, researchers and students interested in JFM and Biodiversity research. |
