Current Science

N. H. Ravindranath ¹, I. K. Murthy ¹, Joshi Priya ¹, Sujata Upgupta ¹, Swapan Mehra ², Srivastava Nalin ³

Affiliations
1 Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, IN
2 Iora Ecological Solutions Pvt Ltd, New Delhi 110 030, IN
3 Institute for Global Environment Strategies, 2108-11, Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115, JP

Abstract

Periodic estimation, monitoring and reporting on area under forest and plantation types and afforestation rates are critical to forest and biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management and for meeting international commitments. This article is aimed at assessing the adequacy of the current monitoring and reporting approach adopted in India in the context of new challenges of conservation and reporting to international conventions and agencies. The analysis shows that the current mode of monitoring and reporting of forest area is inadequate to meet the national and international requirements. India could be potentially over-reporting the area under forests by including many non-forest tree categories such as commercial plantations of coconut, cashew, coffee and rubber, and fruit orchards. India may also be under-reporting deforestation by reporting only gross forest area at the state and national levels. There is a need for monitoring and reporting of forest cover, deforestation and afforestation rates according to categories such as (i) natural/primary forest, (ii) secondary/degraded forests, (iii) forest plantations, (iv) commercial plantations, (v) fruit orchards and (vi) scattered trees.

Keywords

Afforestation, Deforestation, Forest Cover, Monitoring and Reporting, REDD+.

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Manan Bhan ¹, Dhruba Sharma ¹, A. S. Ashwin ¹, Swapan Mehra ¹

Affiliations
1 IORA Ecological Solutions Pvt Ltd, Lado Sarai, New Delhi 110 030, IN

Abstract

According to the India State of Forests Report 2015, forest cover comprises 21.34% of India's total geographical area. This is significantly less than the 33% forest and tree cover envisaged under the National Forest Policy 1988 (ref. 2). In addition to providing vital ecosystem services, these forests support the livelihoods of people in nearly 173,000 'forest fringe villages'. Industrial and developmental projects in these forest areas, such as building of dams, mining and construction of roads, may have environmental impacts, including threats to the long-term sustenance of forest cover.

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Surajit Ghosh ¹, Raj Kumar ¹, Uttara Pandey ¹, Parul Srivastava ¹, Swapan Mehra ¹

Affiliations
1 IORA Ecological Solutions Pvt Ltd, 225B, FF, Indraprastha, Gyanamandir Complex, Lado Sarai Village, New Delhi - 110030, IN

Abstract

The Brahmaputra basin covers a geographical area of 580,000 km², spreading over China, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan. India is the middle riparian country between China and Bangladesh on the Brahmaputra river which originates from the Angsi glacier in Tibet¹. The catchment of the Brahmaputra within India spreads across the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Nagaland and Sikkim. Flooding is a regular phenomenon in the lower catchment of the Brahmaputra.

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