Report sought from NGT on 23 lakh hectares of forests Dehradun News – Times of India

Dehradun: National Green Tribunal (NGT), taking suo motu notice of a media report earlier this year which indicated the loss of forest area in the country to the tune of 2.3 lakh hectares (ha) since 2000, has issued the directive. Forest Survey of India (FSI), headquartered in Dehradun, to provide a comprehensive report on the matter.
The NGT observed in the ongoing hearing of the matter that the said figure equates to a 6% reduction in tree cover during the given period. A PTI report in April attributed the figure to 2.3 lakh hectares. Global Forest Watchan online platform that tracks forest changes in near real time using satellite data and other sources.
If one puts it in relative terms, the total shrinking forest cover would be “about 15 times the size of Delhi”. The report did not specify the year-by-year breakdown of the 2.3 million hectares figure reported in the Global Forest Watch data, but noted that five northeastern states lost 2.3 million hectares of trees between 2001 and 2023. accounted for 60 percent of all reductions in coverage.
Assam exhibited the highest decline at 324,000 hectares against an average of 66,600 hectares. According to the report, Mizoram covered 312,000 hectares, Arunachal 262,000 hectares, Nagaland 259,000 hectares and Manipur 240,000 hectares.
The report added that India experienced a loss of 4,14,000 hectares of moist primary forest (4.1%) from 2002 to 2023, accounting for 18% of its total. Lack of tree cover within the same time frame.
The NGT, citing the report, said that forests serve as both. Carbon sink and a source, removing carbon dioxide from the air during evaporation or regeneration and releasing it when purged or reduced. He also expressed concern over the report which stated that “Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows that the rate of deforestation in the country between 2015 and 2020 was 3,668,000 hectares per year, which It ranks second in the world.”
The matter was initially examined by the Green Court on May 20, followed by the Central Pollution Control Board, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Survey of India. was made a party.
The tribunal had then directed the Survey of India to submit reports on the status of the country’s forest cover, particularly in the Northeast, at five-year intervals from 2000 to March 2024. Survey of India said during the hearing on November 18. that FSI maintains forest cover information;
Accordingly, the NGT directed the Director General of FSI to submit a report within one month. The order was issued on the day of the hearing but was made available last week.