What were the provisions of the Forest Act 1878?

The first Inspector General of forest in India was a German expert, Dietrich Brandis who was appointed by the British. He set up Indian Forest Service in 1864 and helped formulate the Indian Forest Act of 1865. The latter one was amended twice in 1878 and then in 1927. The provisions of the Forest Act 1878 were:

• According to this Act, the forest was divided into 3 categories - reserved, protected and village forests.

• The forests which were best weres termed as ‘Reserved forests’.

• Villagers were not allowed to take anything from these forests even for their personal use.

• From protected or village forests, villagers could take wood for building houses and for fuel.