100 ARUNACHAL PRADESH FORESTS: WORTH MORE STANDING? Pradeep Chaudhry State Forest Research Institute, Itanagar-791111, Arunachal Pradesh, India E-mail: pradeepifs@yahoo.com Abstract Forests provide both direct and indirect benefits to mankind. Examples of direct benefits with associated market value include timber, fuel wood, fodder and non timber forest products. Indirect benefits include various regulating, supporting and cultural services like climate amelioration, soil conservation, watershed protection, carbon sequestration, aesthetic, recreational, spiritual values etc. Generally indirect benefits are ignored during rational decision making and benefit cost analysis to decide the diversion of forest areas for non forestry purposes. With more than 80 % area under forest and tree cover, Arunachal Pradesh state is one of the richest storehouse of biodiversity in India. Real value of the forests of the state has been assessed in the article by taking into account the science based analysis of the studies conducted by imminent international agencies at global level. INTRODUCTION Forests are one of the most important components of the terrestrial environmental system and a complete resource base. Through their vast array of ecosystem services, they provide various goods like timber, fuel wood, pulpwood, fodder, and non- wood forest produce. They also support industrial and commercial activities and provide a large number of ecological services, for instance, humus production, improving soil quality, the ecological balance and the life- support systems essential for food production, health and clean air production. Indeed, forests support the development of whole humankind. Forests are the second largest land–based resource after agriculture with the potential to reduce poverty in India; it supports the poor, and has helped them to meet their basic requirements over the long and chequered history of the country. If managed properly, forests can play a very important role in addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Empirical evidence is available in India to the effect that the household income of marginalized communities owe more to the forests than to their privately owned property (Verma, 2008). FOREST ECOSYSTEM SERVICES The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) 1 , carried out between 2001 and 2005, was an effort to report on the health of various ecosystems of the world. It also demonstrated the dependence of the human population on forests and other ecosystems for their multiple needs. It identified provisioning, regulating and cultural services as the major services that the ecosystems provide to human beings for their livelihood security; it placed human well- being as the central focus for assessment and stressed the need for a detailed analysis of the full costs, risks and benefits of forests (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) 2005. The largest assessment ever undertaken about the health of ecosystem which was done by 1360 experts from 95 countries. The MEA has the consensus of world’s scientists and was designed to meet the needs of decision makers in government, business, civil society and is based on goods & services and their sustainability (Verma, 2008). The major categories of ecosystem services, Bulletin of Arunachal Forest Research 25 (1&2) : 100-104, 2009.