FSI Report: Chhattisgarh forests shrinking despite plantation efforts
Chhattisgarh forests shrinks, report FSI
Raipur | Correspondent: While Chhattisgarh is being praised for having one of the largest forest covers across the country, the Indian State of Forest Report 2023 (ISFR) depicts a different story. on the contrary to the popular claims, the report by the Forest Survey of India highlights a decline in the forest area across the Chhattisgarh over the past two years.
According to this report, the forest area has reduced in 17 out of the 28 districts, which is 60% of the state. Mungeli district saw the maximum decline, with a 17.27 % drop in the forest area. while in Gaiyaband, the forest reduced by 11.02% and Kabirdham recorded an 8.44% decline.
Other districts also witnessed notable declines that includes Kondagaon (7.54%), Balrampur (6.45%), Mahasamund (5.05%), and Rajnandgaon (4.38%). Forest cover also decreased in Korba (3.66%), Korea (3.24%), Surajpur (3.10%), Janjgir-Champa (2.42%), Sukma (2.27%), Durg (1.81%), Surguja (1.75%), Jashpur (1.68%), Raigarh (1.03%), and Bemetara (0.90%).
What does ‘FOREST’ actually mean?
When talking about Forests, it is not just about trees. They are complete ecosystems where animals, birds, insects, plants, air, water, and even people live together, a whole world that often goes unnoticed. However, in most discussions, forests are often mistakenly understood as just tree cover.
The report also explains that while tree cover has increased by 702.75 square kilometers, this growth is mostly due to plantations on private lands, farms, and in urban areas - not in actual forests.
So, this increase should not be confused with the growth of natural forests. In fact, when we combine both forest and tree cover, the net increase is only 683.62 square kilometers.
National picture not as Green as it seems
Across the country, it has been widely reported that forest cover has increased by 1,445 square kilometers. But the Forest Survey of India’s report shows that only 7 square kilometers of this is actual recorded forest area.
Most of the increase - about 1,289 square kilometers - comes from plantations, tree parks, or private green efforts, while 149 square kilometers is from unrecorded forest areas. This raises important questions about how forest data is being understood and shared.
