Every year about 3000 million m3 of wood is harvested and used in the world. Of this slightly more than half is burned as fuel for heating and cooking, most of it directly, but some in the form of charcoal. Over half the world's people still depend on wood for cooking and heating. In the industrial countries, very little wood is used as fuel.

30% of forest area in India falls under Tropical moist deciduous forests, 29.6% tropical dry deciduous, 6% tropical wet evergreen and 6.9% tropical thron.

In a dense forest, during rains 5% of water falls to ground through the trunk of the trees, 80% through the tip of the leaves, and 15% as water vapour to atmosphere. Sixty percent of rain water is flowing to the sea, 28% as vapour and only 12% is utilised for our uses.

The Western Ghats are pierced in a few places by passes. The Perambadi Pass gives access to Coorg, the Periya pass to Mysore and the Karrkkur Pass to the Nilgiri District, Palaghat Gap, Bodinaikannur pas connects Bodinaikannur in the Madura District and the High Range and leads to  Devicolam and Munnar, the Tevaram Pass Kambam pass, Kumili Pass and the Arienkavu Pass are examples. Among the less important ones are the Kottachimala Pass, the Thirukkuramgudy Birla Pass and Yedamala Pass.

The 400 mm of rainfall that India receives every year are distributed as 70 mm evaporated immediately, 115 mm run-off surface water and 215 mm percolates into the soil. Of this 50 mm goes to ground water table.

It is estimated that out of the total 3 lakh species of plants in the world, over 20,000 were in the category of endangered or vulnerable and threatened with extinction.

ACID RAIN: On account of large scale industrial activities in advanced countries, (USA, UK and European Countries), fall of acid rain was noticed in Scandinavia. In Canada, thousands of lakes have been destroyed due to acid rain. The basic ecology is affected. Large scale deforestation and imbalance of oxygen proportion of the atmosphere is the cause for acid rain. The weather and rain pattern is also affected.

BIOSPHERE: is the life zone of the earth and includes all living organisms with the man at the center stage and all undecomposed organic matter .

BOURDILLON'S PLOT:  is located in Arienkavu which lies on the northern side of Shendurney valley and is being drained by kalduruthy aur .It commemorates the World's first experiment in evolving a new technique by planting Teak stump. Foresters all over focus their attention to this area where teak is planted in 1891 by Mr. T.F. Bourdillon, Head of Forest Department of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. This mark the beginning of a new era in the history of stump planting in teak culture.

The first real interest in the conservancy of forests in India originated from the Britishers. Teak timber became the main demand of the Govt., for ship building, military and other purposes. In 1842, the court of Directors of the Indian Navy Board suggested improvement of forests by the artificial regeneration and the task was initiated by Mr. H.V. Canolly, the then Collector of Malabar. On his recommendation, the Government first acquired on lease twenty square miles of forest with the objective of getting sustained supply of teak.