Forestry in North Dinajpur is immensely important owing to a number of forest based industry in the district. About 0.19 % of the total geographical area of the district which is about 1483.75 acres of land is under forest cover. The area covered by forest in the district of North Dinajpur is quite less. Tropical Moist and Mixed Deciduous Forests forms the major forest cover where main species found are Sissoo, Simul, Khair, Akashmoni, Khadam, Jarul, Arjun, Sal and many more. Teak is also found in some patches. The distribution of forests is very irregular and mostly spread in small pockets. There are some pockets of natural forests of 282.11 acre. The rivers of Kulik, Nagar and Mahananda flow through the district and provide great fertility to the soil; paddy, jute and sugarcane are grown in large numbers.

Forestry Activities in North Dinajpur District
A number of forestry activities are carried out in the North Dinajpur District. For bringing the non utilizable land lying outside the Government Forest area under forest cover, Raiganj Social Forestry Division has been created. The initial steps of social Forestry project included identification of uncultivated land. Emphasis has been given to the linear strips that run along the roads, rivers, canals and railway embankment. Under the project, many sterile waste lands belonging to private individuals were also identified. Meeting the local demand of fire wood, timber, fodder, pole etc and providing employment through plantation were the main objectives of this project.

Forestry and Employment in North Dinajpur District
Rural population of the district is greater than the urban population and thus the dependence on forest products is much more. Thus the forestry project has greatly reduced the problems of low forest cover. Per capita annual consumption of fire wood has been estimated in the rural areas of the district to be 7, 30,000 tonnes.

Forest Based Market and Industry in North Dinajpur District
During Kharif and pre-Kharif season, Paddy is mostly produced in the district. Rest of the industry is artisan oriented where forest based handicrafts are produced. Small scale and cottage industries are scattered throughout the district. Major forest based industry of North Dinajpur District include Saw Mill Industries and Ply Wood and Veneer making Industries.

Tourist Spots in North Dinajpur


•Sap-nikla forest, located 22 km from Islampur where visitors can visit the lake and forest for sight seeing.
•Karnajora Museum and park
•Burhana Fakir"s Mosque
•Goddess Kali"s temple at Baira
•Malgaon and Kunore - Famous for terracotta work
•Goddess Bhairabi"s temple at Bindore
•Kunore - famous for terracotta pottery & Malgaon.
•Banabithi Resort at Barui, Barduari.
•Farm-House at Samaspur, Hemtabad

Developmental Projects in the Forestry of North Dinajpur
In the context of North Bengal Forests, the Social Forestry Plantations have not yet been able to take pressure off the natural Forests. Government Forest contain a higher proportion of big size timber from valuable species (e.g. Sal, Teak etc), than strip plantation and farm forestry. The strip plantation are also prone to theft, damage, fire, grazing and encroachment and therefore, not much timber and fire wood remains available at the time of harvesting to meet the local demand fully. But for the land outside the control of the Government is still lying in unplanned productivity condition in respect of forestry. There is scope of enhancement of production in these lands. Possible Developments in the forestry would be Medicinal and Aromatic plants like Ashok, Swarpagandha, Lemon grass, Makna, Kalamegh, Nichinda, Costach, Abir, Isabgol, Ming Oil, Menthanol, Jasmine essence possible export items which are already being planted in some parts of the district.

Population increase in the district has greatly enhanced the need of forest products. Owing to this, much efforts has been put to increase the productivity and various projects have been taken up. Social Forestry activity has augmented the forest productivity and has supported the forest based small scale industry to a great extent.