CBSE Class 10 Answered

Dear student,

The stakeholder refers to any individual, group or organisation having a valid interest in the environment. The stakeholders of forests are:

(i) The local or tribal people who live in or around forests and are dependent on forest produce for various aspects of their life. They develop practices to ensure that the resources are used in a sustainable manner. They only use the forests for their vital requirements like leaves for fodder, herbs for medicines, fruits and nuts for food. They do not destroy trees since they are aware that even their future generations are dependent on forests for their survival.

 (ii) The Forest Department of the Government which owns the land and controls the resources from forests. In many places, the Forest dept. converted vast tracts of forests into monocultures of pine, teak or eucalyptus for which huge forest areas were first cleared of all vegetation. This destroys a large amount of biodiversity in the area and also prevents the varied needs of the local people from being met. Sustainable management requires that the Forest dept. involve the local people in managing the forests so that they can be better conserved.

(iii) The industrialists who use various forest produce,but are not dependent on the forests in any one area. They merely consider the forest as a source of raw material for its factories. Since these industries have a greater reach than the local people, they are not interested in the sustainability of the forest in one particular area. They do not have any stake in ensuring that one particular area should yield on optimal amount of some produce for all generations to come.

(iv) The wild life and nature enthusiasts who want to conserve nature  in its pristine form. They are not dependent on the forests, but they have considerable say in their management. They are very interested in conserving wildlife and forest vegetation and carry out various activities to highlight the importance of environment.