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New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has been urged to adopt a “holistic” approach to deal with the alarming loss of forest cover in the north-eastern region.
In a report filed before the green tribunal, amicus curiae Dhruv Tamta suggested formation of a joint committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Survey of India and state forest departments to address inter-state border encroachments.
Advocate Tamta said that “protecting and expanding our forests is not just a policy goal; it is about securing our future”.
He called for using “satellites and AI to monitor forest health in real time” and empowering local communities through joint forest management (JFM) and eco-tourism initiatives.
The report proposes the development of a policy framework that partners with local councils to effectively manage unclassified state forests (USFs), ensuring that local insights drive decision-making.
Furthermore, the introduction of Ecological Impact Assessment (EIA) for large-scale monoculture plantations will help protect biodiversity and promote responsible land use.
Furthermore, it suggested stronger audit mechanisms for compensatory afforestation projects focusing on “survival rates, native species and ecological functionality” and promoted agroforestry models that blend “smart farming with healthy forests”.
The amicus curiae concluded that conservation should be “a community effort rooted in empowerment and technology”, in line with India’s National Forest Policy target of achieving 33 per cent forest cover across the country and 66 per cent in hilly areas.
The suo motu proceedings stemmed from a news report titled “Assam’s forests reduced by 83.92 sq km in just two years” citing the 2023 India State of Forest Report (ISFR) report, which showed that the northeastern region collectively lost 327.30 sq km of forest area, of which Assam contributed 83.92 sq km.
In its affidavit, the Assam government accepted the ISFR’s findings but argued that the loss was overstated, citing a decadal gain of 748.65 sq km in forest area since 2013. It attributed the recent decline in shifting cultivation in unclassified state forests, where the forest department has “no administrative control”, as well as inter-state encroachment from Mizoram.
The Assam government concluded that since more than 10,000 hectares of forest area cleared from encroachment has still not been regenerated, “the actual forest loss is little or non-existent”.
Similarly, Mizoram said that between 2001 and 2023, its forest area is expected to increase from 17,494 sq km (82.98 per cent of the geographical area) to 17,990.46 sq km (85.34 per cent). It attributed the increase to the Green Mizoram Programme, CAMPA and the National Afforestation Programme, emphasizing that forest areas lost due to development were being compensated by compensatory afforestation.
–IANS
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