Alarming Decline: Assam’s Forest Cover Shrinks by 83 sq km in Two Years – Urgent Call to Action!
Assam has experienced a significant reduction in its forest cover, losing over 83 square kilometers between 2021 and 2023, as per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023. The current forest and tree cover in Assam is 30,415.01 sq km, reflecting a decline from previous measurements. This report, unveiled by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, reveals a nationwide increase of 1,445 sq km in forest and tree cover.
In Assam, the total forest area is reported to be 28,313.55 sq km, representing 36.10 percent of the state’s land area. The tree cover contributes 10,718.28 sq km to this total. Despite the slight growth in certain areas, Assam is among the top five states with the highest decrease in forest cover, recording an overall reduction of 86.66 sq km within the recorded forest area (RFA) and green wash (GW) category. This places Assam behind Tripura and Telangana but ahead of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in terms of forest area decline.
According to the ISFR classification, 4.07 percent of Assam’s forest cover is categorized as very dense forest (VDF), 12.45 percent as moderately dense forest (MDF), and 19.58 percent as open forest (OF). The MDF area inside RFA/GW witnessed a sharp decline of 134.32 percent, with scrub areas also decreasing by 18.41 percent. On a positive note, VDF and OF areas inside RFA/GW showed growths of 43.63 percent and 4.03 percent respectively, while non-forest areas increased by 105.07 percent.
Outside the RFA/GW framework, there was a slight decline in VDF and MDF, whereas open forest and scrub areas saw notable increases of 76.18 percent and 23.47 percent, respectively. Nationally, India’s forest and tree cover amounts to 827,357 sq km, occupying 25.17 percent of the country’s total geographical area.
Original Source: https://nenews.in/assam/assams-forest-cover-declines-by-83-sq-km-between-2021-2023-isfr-report/17329/
Category : Assam,Assam Forest,India State of Forest Report,Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav
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Publish Date: 2024-12-22 14:22:00
