Tops list of states with highest relative forest cover loss in India from 2001 to 2018

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Aug 2: Pristine and prolific greenery abounds the landscape of Nagaland, but behind these postcard images lurk a story that may prove unsettling.

According to a report released by the Global Forest Watch, Nagaland lost 199 kha (kilohectare) of tree cover between 2001 and 2018, equalling to a 15% decrease since 2000. The percentage of lost cover hits harder when compared to the nationwide loss of just 12%.

The five districts of Longleng, Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire and Mokokchung contributed 60% of the total cover loss in Nagaland between 2001 and 2018. Longleng topped the list with 25% cover loss followed by Mon and Tuensang with 23% and 20% respectively.

Nagaland was closely followed by Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, all from the Northeast, in the list of states with the highest relative forest cover loss in the country within this period.

Sikkim fared well with just 0.47% relative tree cover loss, the least among the north-eastern states.

The data further showed that between 2013 and 2018, Nagaland had 100% tree cover loss within natural forests. “The total loss within natural forest was equivalent to 44.5 Mt of carbon dioxide emissions,” it reported.

Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram also reported 100% cover loss, followed by Manipur, Sikkim and Tripura with 99%, Assam with 97% and Meghalaya with 92%.

However, relative tree cover gains were made between 2001 and 2012 despite the decrease in the overall cover loss since 2000. In Nagaland, the data showed Mokokchung (9.54 kha), Mon (8.99 kha) and Tuensang (6.00 kha) were responsible for 56% of all tree-cover gain.

It also stated that Nagaland had gained 44 kha of tree cover region-wide, which is 17% of all tree cover gain in India. Arunachal Pradesh came first with 47.8 kha total forest gain, followed by Nagaland (44 kha) and Manipur (33.8 kha).