uttarakhand news

Forest cover increases in 10 districts of Uttarakhand in 2019

The 2019 report of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) seems to be somewhat reassuring that forest cover has increased in 10 districts of Uttarakhand. At the same time, it is raising the concern of the future in three districts, where a decrease of forest cover  has been recorded by 13.4 square kilometers.

However, with this decrease and increase, the total forest cover of Uttarakhand has increased by 08 square kilometers. It is another matter that this figure does not look as attractive as compared to the increase of 23 square kilometers last time (2017 report).

Uttarakhand was able to achieve this figure of eight square kilometers, because eight square kilometers of forest cover have increased in Uttarkashi district alone. After this, the maximum increase of 3.69 sq km was found in Dehradun district. Despite all efforts for conservation, forest cover in Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar has decreased.

If the forest conditions in these areas remained as before, then this figure of growth could have gone up further. According to the Forest Survey of India, the work done in forest conservation has to be credited for this increase in forest cover.

Human needs are destroying the forests

Of course, there has to be a balance between development versus destruction. But, in a state like Uttarakhand, the challenge of balance is even greater because 71.05 percent of the territory is forest area. In such a situation, almost all development projects have to deal with the challenge of forest areas and have to pay the price in the form of cutting of trees somewhere.

The Forest Survey of India (FSI) report also confirms this. Out of the three districts in which the forest area has been reduced, two districts (Udhamsinghnagar and Haridwar) are completely plains and a part of one district (Nainital) is also in the plains. This district is ahead in terms of population also. It is clear that for the increasing needs of human beings and development work, forests have to be cut.

Dehradun is also largely plains district in the third place in the population, and increase in its forest area, can be accredited to and the remote Chakrata, the mountainous area of ​​Kalsi more than that of plains. Apart from this, Rajaji National Park and Dehradun and Mussoorie Forest Division are reserved in large part of it.

On the other hand, in the hilly areas where the forest cover has increased, there are less positive reasons and more negative reasons. Due to migration, the mountainous regions are becoming increasingly deprived. In such a situation, due to limited human needs, the cover of forests is also increasing automatically.

79 square kilometers lost near populated areas

The forest population in Uttarakhand is close to the category of moderately dense forests (MDF). There is also a lot of pressure on the forests to complete development works. This is the reason that between the report of 2017 and this report of 2019, the medium dense forest (MDF) near the population has decreased by 79 square kilometers.

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