1,20,000 hectares of forests lost in last 5 years: Global Forest Watch

HYDERABAD: A recent report published by the Global Forest Watch indicates a sharp decline in the forest coverage of India, primarily the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and the entire north eastern region. Karnataka has lost 3000 hectares of primary forests every year between 2016-2018, which far exceeds the annual rate of forest loss in the state for the first time since 2001. The annual forest loss in the year 2016 was 3,310 hectares, followed by 3,060 hectares in 2017 and 3,537 hectares in 2018.

Kerala has also seen an acute appreciation in deforestation. For the first time since 2011, the forest cover loss in Kerala has soared to an alarming 7187 hectares in 2016, 9722 in 2017 and 6723 in 2018. The forest losses in the other southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa are comparatively lower to the aforementioned states.

Forest degradation in the north eastern part of the country has been a looming threat for the past 18 years. In general, the states have been losing 15,000-30,000 hectares of forests every year. The situation in Mizoram is more alarming when compared to others; the state alone has registered a loss of 41,000 hectares in the year 2007.

The historically declining forest expanses of the country have reached an all-time high in the past 5 years as India suffered a loss of more than 120,000 hectares in primary forests, which is 36 per cent more than the losses accounted between the years of 2009-2013, according to the same report.