JOIN USThe 'State of the Forest Report 2017 suggesting that the country's forest and tree cover has marginally increased by almost 1% over the last two years may appear to be encouraging, but it hardly calls for any celebration. The document says that forest cover has increased by 6,778 sq km and tree cover by 1,243 sq km, for a total of 7.08 lakh sq km of greenery, which is 21.53% of the geographical area of the country. According to the report, three states -- Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala -- accounted for 63% of the increase. Karnataka's forest and tree cover has gone up by 1,101 sq km over the previous survey in 2015. But, a closer look at the report reveals that when the window-dressing is removed, forests continue to be under severe threat.
Though the survey is supposed to be about 'forests', the report makes it clear that the 'forest cover' includes "all lands of more than 1 hectare in area with a tree canopy of more than 10%, irrespective of land use, ownership and legal status." This means, private plantations of tea, rubber, coffee, etc., have been included. This also explains that though vast tracts of evergreen forests in Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts have recently been hacked to make way for plantations and the government has no plans to stop them, the state continues to present a sham rosy picture. The assault on Western Ghats is going on unabated, with the Karnataka government, pressured by elected representatives, rejecting even a diluted Kasturirangan Report on land use in the Ghats and demanding that even hazardous industries be allowed to operate there. In a further blow to tropical forests, the state government has proposed a new 65-km 4-lane road connecting Chikkamagaluru and Dakshina Kannada, which will not only destroy thousands of trees, but would disturb the path of several tributaries of the Nethravathi river.
The claim made in the report that the category of 'very dense forests' defined as canopy cover of over 70% -- increased substantially from 85,904 sq km to 98,158 sq km in the last two years also has to be taken with a pinch of salt. The naturally forested North-Eastern states, which account for one-fourth of the country's forest area, suffered some of the biggest losses, with Nagaland and Mizoram accounting for over 2.5% loss compared to 2015. The report attributes this to shifting agricultural patterns and development activities. The long-cherished ideal of 33% forest cover in the country may be an unattainable dream but, in these times of climate change and global warming, it is imperative that we make it a mission to save the forests we have.