Guwahati: The tree cover loss in the northeast region during 2001-23 is over 75% of the country’s total tree cover decimation during the period, according to the data of the Global Forest Watch (GFW), raising concern among environmental activists and conservationists.
The northeast region has lost 17,650 sq km of tree cover during the said period, which is around 12 times the size of Delhi and almost half the size of Kerala. The country’s total tree cover loss in the said period is 23,300 sq km.
The GFW is an open-source application to monitor forests across the globe in near real-time and was started by a US-based non-profit organisation called the World Resources Institute (WRI) in 1997.
As per the data, Assam has lost the highest tree cover in the country followed by Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura, resulting in climate change alarmingly.
Assam lost just over 66 sq km of tree cover in 2001. However, the tree cover loss continued to increase due to various factors including rapid urbanisation, shifting agriculture, and encroachment. In 2016, the state lost its highest tree cover (254 sq km). The state lost 178 sq km of tree cover last year. The picture is similar in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura.
However, Mizoram and Manipur have recorded a drastic loss in tree cover since 2012, and Meghalaya since 2014.
A city-based conservationist, Hemen Lahkar, while expressing his concerns over the loss in tree cover, said everyone including the govt must take responsibility and increase tree cover and protect the environment for the future.
“The situation is alarming. Strict govt policies are required to prevent deforestation and increase afforestation in the state as well as the water bodies. Climate change is already adversely impacting the fragile ecology and all the sectors,” he added.
In February, Assam science, technology, and climate change minister Keshab Mahanta told the Assembly during the budget session of the House that climate change has resulted in the decrease in rainfall in the state by over 10mm on an average every year during the period 1990 and 2019 and it has adversely affected various sectors in the state, including agriculture, water resource, environment, health, and biodiversity.
As a result of climate change, the maximum and minimum temperatures have also risen in the state and led to shorter winters and unexpected rainfall, sometimes even in odd seasons. The maximum temperature has increased by 0.049 degrees Celsius, every year on average, and the minimum temperature by 0.012 degrees Celsius in the state.
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