India's unique topography, terrain, climate and vegetation, brings out natural diversity that cannot be witnessed anywhere else in the world. One such variation is also present in India's wild forested regions.

Tropical forests in India's east present a total contrast with the pine and coniferous woodland of the Western Himalayas. The natural cover of India varies with high altitudes and these evergreen forests are bounded with high alpine meadows nearer to the snowline and temperate forests of short stout trees in the lower elevations. In the Himalayan foothills are decidious trees, with shrubs, Bamboos, fern and grass.

The Varied Indian Forest Range
India's northern plains, the course of the holy rivers Ganga and the Yamuna; the Great Thar Desert in the west; the Sundarbans, the marshy swamplands, in the delta of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, in the east; the Deccan Plateau, lying in the rain shadow of the hills and the Western Ghats with their dense; luxuriant forests - all provide fascinating variations in habitats. These forests sustain 350 species of mammals, 2, 100 kinds of birds - local and migratory, nearly 350 species of reptile and countless insects.

Preserving India's Forest Heritage
The need for conservation of the environment and the forests has excercised the minds of Indian rulers from the earliest of times. In recent times,it was the administrators and princely rulers who demarcated and reserved forests as private preserves. Today many of the forested regions form the nucleus of India's wildlife sanctuaries and parks.

Indian's Only Rainforest
The state of Arunachal Pardesh is gifted with enormous wealth of wildlife and forested land. But once the whole of India was blessed with wealth. Increasing population, hunting and encroachments has resulted in the destruction of India's forest lands. Today the North eastern states of India, have become the only region where Rainforest wealth of India survives, but for how long, that's a big question.

The rainforests of the northeast state of Assam are facing fast depletion due to ignorance and negligence of the state authorities and the community people, residing within the the forest Areas. In the recent survey it has been discovered and that there is a continuous stretch of 800-sq-kms of virgin rainforests in upper Assam that spills over to Arunachal Pradesh is present in the Northeastern region of India.

The newly discovered Joydihing -wildlife sanctuary, comprises the Joypur reserve forest, Dirak reserve forest and Dihing reserve forest. It houses 32 species of mammals, more than 300 species of birds and several other rare and endemic wild species. A critical aspect of this forest zone is that of the 15 species of non-human primates found in India, seven inhabit in this belt. They include Rhesus Macaque, Assamese Macaque, slow Loris, capped Langurs, pig-tailed Macaque, stam-tailed Macaque and Hoolock Gibbons. This rainforest stretch is also one of the largest elephant zone in India, through which more than 2,000 elephants migrate to Arunachal Pradesh every year.

Facts About Rainforests
» More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests.

» Rainforest plants are rich in secondary metabolites, particularly alkaloids. Biochemists believe alkaloids protect plants from disease and insect attacks. Many alkaloids from higher plants have proven to be of medicinal value and benefit.

» Currently, 121 prescription drugs currently sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. And while 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less than 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.

» Promoting the use of these sustainable and renewable sources could stop the destruction of the Rainforests. By creating a new source of income harvesting the medicinal plants, fruits nuts, oil and other sustainable resources, the rainforests is be more valuable alive than cut and burned.

» Sufficient demand of sustainable and ecologically harvested Rainforest products is necessary for preservation efforts to succeed.