Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: A suo motu probe into India’s declining forest cover has been launched by the National Green Tribunal, which has sent summons to all states and union territories—including Goa—requesting thorough information on their conservation initiatives within a month.
A Global Forest Watch report that was published in a national newspaper on April 13 served as the basis for the matter’s consideration by the NGT’s primary bench, which was headed by Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Dr. Afroz Ahmad.
According to the research, India’s forest cover has declined by 6% since 2000, with an alarming 2.33 million hectares of tree cover lost nationwide.
The Global Forest Watch data presents a troubling picture for Goa in particular. Between 2001 and 2023, the coastal state’s tree cover decreased by 921 hectares, or 0.63%, compared to 2000. The substantial environmental impact of deforestation in the area is demonstrated by the fact that this loss resulted in about 490 kilotonnes of CO2 emissions.
India lost 414,000 hectares of humid primary forest between 2002 and 2023, which accounted for 18% of the country’s overall tree cover loss during that time, according to the tribunal’s ruling.
According to the ruling, “Indian forests removed 141 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually and emitted 51 million tonnes between 2001 and 2022, representing a net carbon sink of 89.9 million tonnes.”
By means of its Secretary of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, the NGT has required all states and union territories to provide comprehensive reports that describe the present level of forest cover, the causes of tree loss, and the conservation and management measures implemented.
The Forest Survey of India has been expressly instructed to produce a comprehensive study that details the patterns of forest cover throughout India, with a focus on the Northeast, starting in 2000 and continuing at five-year intervals until March 2024.
The Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981, and the Environment Protection Act of 1986 are among the environmental protection regulations that the tribunal noted may have been broken.
