The forests of Karnataka play a vital role in maintaining environmental and ecological balance and as a source of liveli-hood for millions of people in the State. The forests of Western Ghats are the lifelines of the State. They are the catchments of most of our rivers, which in turn support agriculture, and other land based activities of the people. Western Ghats are also the hydro power source of the State, which fuels the economy of the State. The main activities of the Department are, management of the forests, conservation of wildlife, reafforestation of degraded forests, afforestation of barren areas, social forestry including extension service of forestry & farm forestry, soil and moisture conservation, protection of forest from pilferage, meeting the demands of the population in respect of their requirements of timber, firewood and minor forest produce, raw material requirements of artisans and other economically weaker sections of the population, more particularly of the tribals.