Arunachal, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura had 75 % forest cover: Report MU NEWS/IMPHAL, July 9 : The northeastern states, which account for one-fourth of the countrys forest cover, recorded a net decline of 627 sq km in 2013 compared to the assessment of green cover in 2011, even as the country recorded an increase of 5,871 sq km in its forest cover in the past two years with West Bengal contributing over 60% of the total rise in green area, according to the ‘India State of Forest report 2013’ which was released in New Delhi on Tuesday.Mangrove cover in the country has decreased by 34 sq km. A presentation by the Forest Survey of India noted that Gujarat accounted for the largest increase in mangrove cover at 45 per cent, which is a solace considering that vast tracts of mangroves have been cut down in that State. On the flip side, while 48 per cent of recorded forest area is having adequate regeneration, in 24 per cent it is inadequate and in 10 per cent of the forest area no regeneration has been observed. A massive 73 per cent of the recorded forest area is affected by light to heavy grazing. The majority of the increase in the forest cover is in the open forest category, mainly outside forest areas. The maximum increase in forest cover is in West Bengal (3,810 sq km), followed by Odisha (1,444 sq km) and Kerala (622 sq km) while Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have lost forests due to submergence, mining and shifting cultivation. The report further said that Madhya Pradesh had the largest forest cover of 77,522 sq km followed by Arunachal Pradesh (67,321 sq km). Fifteen states/union territories had more than 33 percent of the geographical area under forest cover while Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura had more than 75 percent forest cover, said the report containing information on forest, tree and mangroves cover as well as growing stock inside and outside the forest areas. The countrys total carbon stock was estimated to be 6,941 million tonnes - an increase of 278 million tonnes as compared to the year 2004. The report said the total forest cover of the country is 69.79 million hectares or 21.23 per cent of the geographical area of the country.The tree cover is estimated to be 91,266 sq km or 9.13 million hectares, which is 2.78 per cent of the country’s geographical area. The total forest and tree cover is estimated at 24.01 per cent, according to the report. However, India’s National Forest Policy 1988 aims at maintaining 33 per cent of the geographical area under forest and tree cover. The good news is that the country still has large patches of contiguous forests accounting for about 40 per cent of the forest cover, according to Forest Survey of India (FSI).
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 08:56:50 +0000
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