CBSE Class 10 Science 2017 · Paper 31/2/3 · Question 6

Where: The Chipko Andolan ('Hug the Trees Movement') originated in the early 1970s from an incident in Reni, a remote village in Garhwal, high up in the Himalayas. How: A contractor had been allowed to fell trees in a forest close to the village. One day, when the men of the village were away, the contractor's workers came to cut the trees. The women of the village rushed to the forest and clasped the tree trunks with their arms, so the workers could not fell the trees, and the forest was saved. Benefit: The local people kept the forest they depend on for firewood, fodder, fruits and other produce, and the soil and water sources that forests protect. The movement spread across communities and forced the government, which owned the forest, to rethink its priorities in the use of forest produce, so the local people gained a say in how their forest is used.