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The Western Ghats have lost 58.22 square kilometres (sq km) of forest cover in the last 10 years, the State of Forest Report (SOFR) 2023 has stated.
“Very Dense Forest increased by 3,465.12 sq km, whereas Moderately Dense Forest and Open Forest decreased by 1,043.23 sq km and 2,480.11 sq km,” it said.
It is the first time that the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has focussed on the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats Eco-Sensitive Area (WGESA), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the planet’s biodiversity hotspots. It covers an area of nearly 60,285.61 sq km, based on the digital boundary assessed by the MoEF&CC. Forest cover in all districts under WGESA has been estimated at 44,043.99 sq km (73 per cent).
The Western Ghats cover six states: Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu have seen the worst decline, with 123.44 sq km of forest loss compared to 2013. Pune recorded a 664.90 sq km decline.
Besides, forest cover loss in hill districts was also noted in the SOFR report. Arunachal Pradesh has lost over 1,000 sq km, followed by Mizoram at 987.70 sq km and Nagaland at 794 sq km.
Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal also recorded losses.
With regard to altitude, the forest loss between 2013 and 2023 has been in the zones of 1,000-2,000 metres and above 4,000 metres. The losses have been recorded as 937.86 sq km and 416.31 sq km respectively.
Lakshwadeep topped the list of Union Territories, with 96 sq km of mangrove forest loss, followed by Jammu & Kashmir with 52.15 sq km and Andaman and Nicobar with 34.22 sq km.
Kutch in Gujarat witnessed the highest loss of mangrove forest at 71.46 sq km. Kerala lost 7.63 sq km.