Forest Preservation Plots in India I - management Status and Value

The paper describes the change in objectives of the national preservation plot network since their inception in the 1930s. Today the network could potentially playa useful role in research, as ecological reference centres and as benchmark reserves for maintenance of biodiversity. However the management status of plots is poor, many have disappeared, rarely are prescriptions for maintenance or monitoring given in working plans, and actual research use is very rare. The paper suggests that greater investment should be made in the preservation plot network so as to achieve their full potential.