Bengaluru’s shrinking tree cover

A joint study conducted by IISc, IIT-Kharagpur and the University of Southern California says Bengaluru’s green cover has reduced drastically from 70-80% in the 1970s to less than 3% in three areas studied in 2019. Unplanned growth, bad governance and a sharp increase in the population has seen Bengaluru’s built-up area eat into the tree cover. If this wasn’t enough, as many as six road widening projects are being actively considered by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) due to which Bengaluru is set to lose as many as 8500 trees.

DH’s Civic Affairs Editor Rasheed Kappan speaks to Dr TV Ramachandra from IISc, Bengaluru whose research and studies over the last several years have been a guiding light for informed activism on the city’s dying lakes, parks and the ecosystem and Vijay Nishanth, an Urban Conservationist better known as Bengaluru’s Tree Doctor.