Reserved Forest is forest area declared under Section -20 of Indian Forest Act-1927 (IFA) after following due process of settlement of Rights under Sec-4 to Sec-19 of IFA and enjoys highest protection and status amongst Legal Classes of forests.

Protected Forest is forest area declared under Section -29 of Indian Forest Act-1927 (IFA) pending due process of settlement of Rights under IFA and enjoys second highest protection and status amongst Legal Classes of forests.

Un-Classed Forest is forest area over which State Government has declared its intention to constitute such area as forest under Indian Forest Act-1927 (IFA) pending due process of settlement of Rights under IFA and enjoys least protection and status amongst Legal Classes of forests.

The Agro-climatic zones in the State reflect the diversity of Ecosystems in the state which develop in to different types of Forest Types (Habitats).

As per the Champion and Seth Classification system, out of 16 major forest types found in the country, Four Main types of Forests are found in Gujarat.

Following four main types of forest ecosystems are found in Gujarat.

• Type 3B Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests
• Type 4B Littoral and Swamp Forests
• Type 5A Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests
• Type 6B Northern Tropical Thorn Forests

Forests are classified into various types and sub-types based on broad characteristics of vegetation supported by them.

The forests areas of the State have been broadly classified in 11 categories as follows :

• Moist Deciduous Forests
• Slightly Moist Teak Forests
• Dry Teak Forests
• Very Dry Teak Forests
• Dry Deciduous Forests
• Dry Deciduous Scrub Forests
• Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests
• Dry Mixed Deciduous & tropical Forests
• Desert Thorn Scrub Forests
• Savannah Forests
• Mangrove Forests

Forest Survey of India carry-out assessment of Forest cover and its changes at the interval of two years. The forest cover as assessed by Forest Survey of India includes all lands which has a tree canopy density of 10 percent and above and have a minimum area of one hectare. The forest cover reported by FSI encompasses all types of lands irrespective of their ownership, land use and legal status.

The forest cover is assessed using satellite based remote sensing data of LISS-III by FSI.

It includes all lands which has a tree canopy density of 10 percent and above and have a minimum area of one hectare.

Change in forest area takes place mainly due to diversion of forest area for non-forest purposes (Negative Changes) and Inclusion of new area in forest (Positive Changes).

The changes in forest area in the State is positive over the years. The change in the Forest Area of the State during the period from the year 1985 to 2013. It has increased from 19318.30 Square KMs in 1985 (9.86 %) to 21664.99 Square KMs in 2013 (11.05 %).

Management of forests is carried out through Working plan of the forests. Working plans are documents prescribing detailed management of forest area of an unit. Working plans are prepared as per Working plan code and approved by Government of India.

Working plans are necessary for scientific management of forests on sustainable basis.

Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone.

Mangrove forests are found in the Intertidal areas of the 15 districts of the State. These forests are represented by 15 mangrove species and more than 100 mangrove associates.

Mangroves are very important source of various non-timber forest products for coastal communities such as fodder, fire wood, honey, gum etc. Therefore, conservation and protection of these ecosystems is very important for the sustainable growth and development of the State. Mangroves protect the shoreline against erosion caused by wind and water currents and also mitigate the impact of natural calamities such as cyclones and tsunamis. They are one of the most important carbon sinks in coastal and intertidal regions and are the major producers of intertidal areas. Thus, it is very important to have a developed and healthy mangrove cover for the socio- economic security of coastal areas.

Gujarat is the only state which has registered an increase of 45 sq km of mangrove cover. (FSI, 2013) in last decade. Gujarat hosts the second largest(after WB) mangrove cover (1103 sq km) of the country (4628 sq km). It is spread over Districts of the state, i.e. Kachchh, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Devbhoomi Dwarika, Amreli, Junagadh, Gir- Somnath, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Anand, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari and Valsad districts.

Change in mangrove cover of Gujarat over the last decade is as follows :

Mangroves protect the shoreline against erosion caused by wind and water currents and also mitigate the impact of natural calamities such as cyclones and tsunamis by acting as shelter belt for the shore line.

Mangroves are very important source of various non-timber forest products for coastal communities such as fodder, fire wood, honey, gum etc. Thus, these ecosystems are very important for the sustainable growth and development of the State.

Following are major Mangrove species found in Gujarat.

Grass lands of Saurashtra, Kachchh and Central Gujarat region, managed by Gujarat Forest Department for grass production are known as "Vidis” in local vernacular.

There are mainly two types of vidis in Gujarat, i.e.

• Reserved Grass Vidis
• Non- Reserved Grass Vidis

Average Annual Grass production from the Grass vidis of the state at present is approximately 100 lac KGs.

Grass storage capacity of the Grass Godowns of the state at present is approximately 400 lac KGs.

Gujarat State is prone to frequent Draughts and scarcity conditions. Cattle breeding is one of the major occupations in this region. In fact, there are communities which solely depend on cattle breeding in the state. Since the animal husbandry is very important in the state, the storage of Grass is also very important to save cattle during frequent Scarcity periods in the state.

The grass collected from the reserved grasslands by the Forest Department is stored as buffer stock to meet the fodder requirement during scarcity conditions as per the state Government order of Agriculture Department PRY/102004/grass/1/G dated 31/8/2006. This grass is distributed by the Revenue Department during scarcity conditions as per the latest rate sanctioned by the Government of Gujarat.

Joint Forest Management (JFM) is a programme in which the forest areas are jointly managed by the local communities along with Forest Department on a care and share basis. The local people help in the development and protection of forests and, in return, they get bamboos, small timbers, and a share in the final harvest of timber in addition to the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs).

Joint Forest Management is being implemented in the Gujarat State since the year 1991.

Continuous efforts are made to involve more and more people in JFM. As a result of these efforts, as many as 3414 Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) are registered in the State covering an Forest area of 458303.20 ha. under JFM.

E-Auction is an method of online auction where registered bidders (in this case timber merchants) submit their offers electronically for the timber lots from various depots put for auction and displayed on the website. It is a Gujarat Forest Departments’ novel initiative using of Information and communications technology (ICT) to improve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and the accountability of the entire timber auction process.

E-Auction of Timber is impartial, transparent and more effective method of Timber Auction. It does not require presence of auctioneer or bidder at the site of Timber depot and one can participate in it from practically anywhere. It removes likelihood of human error and possibilities of rigging in the traditional open auction.

E-Auctions are hoisted by (n) Code Solutions on behalf of Gujarat Forest Department. One needs to get registered with (n) Code Solutions by paying necessary registration fee and deposits for E-Auction. Once authorization and digital signature is obtained from (n) Code Solutions, one can take part in E-auctions.