Forest cover of eight mountain states down in 2 years: Government report – Times of India

DEHRADUN: The latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR), which provides an assessment of the country’s green cover situation, has revealed a decline in forest cover in eight mountain states over the period between 2021 and 2023, with several northeastern states on the list.
Tripura recorded the largest loss of 95.3 sq km, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (-91 sq km), Assam (-79 sq km), Manipur (-54.8 sq km), Nagaland (-51.9 sq km), Meghalaya (-30 sq km), Uttarakhand (-22 sq km) and West Bengal (-2.4 sq km). ISFR further shows that in Uttarakhand, the decline of 22.9 sq km includes forest cover of Corbett, Rajaji and Kedarnath forest divisions, among other 21 forest divisions that saw a dip in forest cover in two years.

Some districts in Mizoram, J&K, HP, Karnataka saw green cover rise

The report prepared by the Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India, while explaining the significance of forest cover for mountain districts, stated: “Forests in hill areas act as natural barriers to soil erosion and landslides as their root systems bind soil. They support biodiversity, sustain water sources and regulate microclimates. Besides providing environmental benefits, these forests impact local livelihoods and traditions.”
Kumaon-based historian, environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee Shekhar Pathak, told TOI: “The Forest Policy of 1952 or The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 mentioned that all the mountain states should have at least 66% forest cover while other states should have 33% forests. But these laws have been diluted over the years, resulting in reduced forests in the ecologically- sensitive mountain states.”
Pathak added: “In both Himalayan and Western Ghats, natural ecosystems are fragile. And due to rising extremities of climate change, rapid urbanisation of mountains and increasing calamities, in the event of natural or man-made disasters, the destruction would be manifold. A new phenomenon of urban landslides can be seen everywhere — whether it is Shimla and Nainital or Darjeeling and Gangtok.”
“The entire belt of forests from Kashmir to Mizoram is uniquely sensitive alongside its fragile geological and tectonic diversity, apart from different climatic zones which thrive on forests, and need protection from felling,” Pathak cautioned. It is not all gloomy for the hill districts in the country though. Some hill districts in a few states, including Himalayan and coastal states and UTs, registered “gains in forest cover of 234 sq km”. These include Mizoram (241.7 sq km), J&K (83.5 sq km), HP (54.7 sq km), and Karnataka (54.68 sq km). Notably, the biennial report analysed forest cover across 172 mountain districts in 17 states and UTs