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India has misplaced 2.33 million hectares of tree cowl since 2000, equal to a six p.c lower in tree cowl throughout this era, in line with the most recent information from the International Forest Watch monitoring challenge.
IMAGE: A tiger seen contained in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve throughout the first Tadoba Pageant organised by the Maharashtra Ministry of Forest, in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, March 3, 2024. {Photograph}: ANI Picture
The International Forest Watch, which tracks forest adjustments in close to real-time utilizing satellite tv for pc information and different sources, mentioned the nation misplaced 4,14,000 hectares of humid major forest (4.1 p.c) from 2002 to 2023, making up 18 p.c of its complete tree cowl loss in the identical interval.
Between 2001 and 2022, it mentioned, forests in India emitted 51 million tons of carbon dioxide equal a 12 months and eliminated 141 million tons of carbon dioxide equal a 12 months. This represents a internet carbon sink of 89.9 million tons of carbon dioxide equal a 12 months.
A mean of 51.0 million tons of carbon dioxide equal per 12 months was launched into the ambiance because of tree cowl loss in India. In complete, 1.12 gigatons of carbon dioxide equal was emitted throughout this era.
Forests are each a sink and a supply for carbon, eradicating carbon dioxide from the air when standing or regrowing and emitting it when cleared or degraded. Lack of forests, thus, accelerates local weather change.
Tree cowl loss is just not at all times deforestation, which generally refers to human-caused, everlasting elimination of pure forest cowl. It contains each human-caused loss and pure disturbances, and loss that’s everlasting or non permanent. Examples of tree cowl loss that will not meet the definition of deforestation embody loss from logging, fireplace, illness or storm injury.
The information confirmed that 95 p.c of the tree cowl loss in India from 2013 to 2023 occurred inside pure forests.
The utmost tree cowl lack of 189,000 hectares occurred in 2017. The nation misplaced 175,000 hectares of tree cowl in 2016 and 144,000 hectares in 2023, the very best within the final six years.
The GFW information confirmed that 5 states accounted for 60 per cent of all tree cowl loss between 2001 and 2023.
Assam had the utmost tree cowl loss at 324,000 hectares in comparison with a mean of 66,600 hectares. Mizoram misplaced 312,000 hectares of tree cowl, Arunachal Pradesh 262,000 hectares, Nagaland 259,000 hectares, and Manipur 240,000 hectares.
The tree cowl loss information featured on the International Forest Watch represents the very best accessible spatial figures on how forests are altering world wide.
Nevertheless, adjustments have occurred to the info over time on account of algorithm changes and improved satellite tv for pc information. Subsequently, the GFW cautions customers in opposition to evaluating previous and new information, particularly earlier than/after 2015.
In keeping with the Meals and Agriculture Organisation, the speed of deforestation in India was 668,000 hectares per 12 months between 2015 and 2020, the second highest worldwide.
The information confirmed India misplaced 35,900 hectares of tree cowl on account of fires from 2002 to 2022, with 2008 recording the utmost tree cowl loss on account of fires (3,000 hectares).
From 2001 to 2022, Odisha had the very best fee of tree cowl loss on account of fires with a mean of 238 hectares misplaced per 12 months. Arunachal Pradesh misplaced 198 hectares, Nagaland 195 hectares, Assam 116 hectares, and Meghalaya 97 hectares.
The International Forest Watch refers to tree cowl when speaking about forest extent, loss and achieve. Tree cowl is a handy metric for monitoring forest change as a result of it’s simply measurable from house utilizing freely accessible, medium-resolution satellite tv for pc imagery. Which means that tree cowl might be monitored often, at low price, and over giant geographic scales.
Nevertheless, the existence of tree cowl doesn’t at all times make a forest, tree cowl loss doesn’t at all times suggest forest loss or deforestation, and tree cowl achieve doesn’t at all times suggest forest achieve or restoration.
Measuring these variables instantly poses technical challenges, since most definitions of forest contain a mixture of tree cowl and land use. The latter is far more troublesome, if not not possible in some instances, to observe utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery, the GFW says.
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