Question

why has forest areas over the ear decrease

Answer 1

Multiple research reports find decrease in forest area in India, contrary to the government’s claim.Experts point out that government estimates include plantations which are different from natural forests and should not be included in the forest survey.Scientists reported a 15.83 percent reduction in overall forest cover in the Eastern Ghats during the last 95 years and conversion of agricultural land into scrubland, largely driven by mining, agricultural activities and urbanisation.

Natural forests across India are slowly disappearing, with some serious decline in core forest area and large protected forests, says recent research. These finding are contrary to the government’s claims of increasing forest cover.

The scientific reports are based on a mix of satellite data, ground vegetation observations and historical maps. According to their findings, the Eastern Ghats have lost 15.83% of its forest area over a span of almost 100 years, tropical montane forests continue to disappear in the Sikkim Himalayas, particularly at the lower heights and there is a noticeable decline across all forest types in India.

This is at odds with the latest Forest Survey of India report that assesses India’s forest cover. The FSI estimates India’s forest cover at 7,08,273 square kilometres in 2017, compared to 7,01,673 square km in 2015. This apparent rise in forest cover has been debated, with some experts pointing out that the government estimates include plantations cover which are different from natural forests.

At least three scientific reports over the past seven months – one in Applied Geography and two in Ecological Indicators – add weight to the critics’ arguments. The three studies “very rigorously and unambiguously establish that there is significant reduction in green cover in many natural forest and habitat types of India,” said Vishwesha Guttal, assistant professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

“Of course, many have long suspected this is the case but these studies put any such doubts to rest,” Guttal told Mongabay-India.

“It is important to note that these studies are measuring green cover in natural forest areas. The government often keeps claiming that the green cover is increasing, but it is often due to plantations and not due to expansion of forest covers. Natural forest cover is an important determinant of biodiversity, ecosystem services and stability of ecosystems and the same cannot be said of plantations. That such natural forests are declining substantially, is not very surprising to many of us working in this area. Yet, it is quite alarming,”