National Bamboo Mission envisages bamboo plantations over more than 1.7 ha which will need more than 7 crore plants. It is not enough to rely upon seedlings alone to meet this requirement and several organizations have started experimenting propagation by vegetative methods.

Bamboos are one of the versatile plant groups with multifarious uses and meet many needs of the society. Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood and industrial raw material for both traditional cottage and modern industrial sectors. The employment potential of bamboo is very high and the major work forces involved are very poor.

Some recent studies on forest-based common pool resources have interpreted situations in which households choose to spend time on collection from the forest commons for sale and value addition as an income enhancing activity that is independent of the common's role as a safety net. Feb 23-29, 2008

The present study on socio-economic and socio-ecological aspects of Sambalpur Forest Division of Orissa reveals that forests play an important role in the economy of the State in terms of contribution to state revenue, State Domestic Product as well as dependence of people for livelihood. The people living adjacent to the reserved forests of Sambalpur Forest Division (pre-reorganised) are heavily dependent on these forests. Although the nominal forest cover of the state continues to remain unchanged one notices a gradual decline in the effective forest cover of the state. Feb 2008

An innovative attempt to create a standard for certifying forestbased medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) by adapting global norms for national-level implementation.

The Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Act 2 of 2007). Implications for the management of protected areas and wildlife in West Bengal.

The Biligiri Rangaswamy (BR) Hills are in the Yelanur Taluka of Chamrajanagar District of Karnataka. In the midst of these hills lies the 540 square kilometre Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT WLS). This area is also the traditional home of the indigenous Soliga people who have lived here for generations. Once declared a sanctuary, the resources of the area legally belong to the State. In the past, however the Forest Department has allowed the Soligas to collect NTFP. This scenario changed in 2006.

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is characterized by a rich diversity of ethnomedicinal plants and a rich heritage of traditional medicine practices. The present study showed that 139 species of plants belonging to 51 different families were used in tribal medicine of this region. However, 27 per cent of medicinal plants of this region are under different categories of threat.