2.33 Million Hectares Of Tree Cover Lost Since 2000| NGT Takes Suo Moto Action, Seeks Response From Centre Govt

The principal bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought response from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Survey of India (SOI) and the  to a newspaper report stating  "India lost 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000".

Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Dr. A. Senthil Vel said, "The news item raises substantial issue relating to compliance of the environmental norms and implementation of the provisions of scheduled enactment."

While taking suo moto cognizance of the report, the Tribunal issued notice CPCB, MoEFCC and SOI.

It also directed  the Director, SOI to "submit a report showing the position of forest cover in India with specific reference to northeast from the year 2000 onwards with each five year interval covering the period upto March, 2024."

Referring to the news item, the bench noted that, "The matter relates to the loss of 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000 in India, equivalent to a six per cent decrease in tree cover during this period."

According to the article, as per the Global Forest Watch, which tracks forest changes in near real-time using satellite data and other sources, India "lost 4,14,000 hectares of humid primary forest (4.1 per cent) from 2002 to 2023, making up 18 per cent of its total tree cover loss in the same period."

It also stated that "between 2001 and 2022, forests in India emitted 51 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year and removed 141 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year."

This represents a net carbon sink of 89.9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year. It states that an average of 51.0 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year was released into the atmosphere as a result of tree cover loss in India. In total, 1.12 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent was emitted during this period, noted the Tribunal.

"The news item quotes data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, which states that the rate of deforestation in India was 668,000 hectares per year between 2015 and 2020, the second highest worldwide," it noted further.

The Tribunal opined that the matter "indicates violation of the provisions of Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

The matter is listed for August 28, for further consideration.

Title: News item titled "India lost 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000 Global Forest Watch" appearing in The Indian Express date 13.04.2024.

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