7. Discuss the role of women and communities in the protection and conservation of forests.
The role of women and communities in the protection and conservation of forests can be understood by following two case studies:
1. Bishnoi community- The Bishnoi community in Bishnoi village of Rajasthan fought with the king and his army for the protection of trees. Amrita Devi a woman of Bishnoi led this movement and with her daughter and hundreds of other members of her community, embraced the trees and lost their lives at the hands of soldiers. Ultimately the king had to drop this idea of cutting trees for his palace.
2. Chipko movement- In 1974, in the Garhwal region of the Himalayas, the Chipko movement was started. During this movement, the villagers hugged the trees and stopped contractors to cut the trees.
Thus, by means of these two case studies, we can conclude that women and social communities have a very large role to play in the prevention of forests.