PremiumThe dozen trees along the footpath of Guwahati’s busy RG Baruah Road were like old friends, a comforting and familiar sight for denizens of the city. For decades, these trees had offered their shade to passersby on hot days and enhanced the beauty of the road. So, on 7 February, when the people of Guwahati found all the trees in the area had been mercilessly chopped down by the public works department (PWD), they were gutted. The trees had been killed to pave the way for construction of a 580-metre two-way flyover.
The mass tree cull led to widespread anger across Guwahati. While many took to social media to vent, some gathered at Zoo Road Tiniali on 11 February to protest.
Shivani Goyal, a volunteer at Friday for Future, a movement that demands climate action from the government, was one of the main organizers of the protest. “They cut down so many trees to build a flyover, which is not sustainable," says Goyal, a student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). “With more concretization, there will be more darkness and less sunlight in the city."
Rohini Saikia, divisional forest officer (DFO), Kamrup (East), under whose jurisdiction the area falls, says that the PWD (Roads) took permission from the forest department before cutting the trees. “Due process was followed by the department in this regard. Also, after completion of this project, the number of trees that have been cut will be planted again in the same area," he says.
In a way, the felling of trees in Guwahati epitomizes the findings of the India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021, released last month by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). The report states that the forest cover of the North Eastern region has reduced substantially, shrinking by 1,020 sq km from the previous assessment, just two years earlier.
Most North-Eastern states have suffered a significant loss in forest cover. Arunachal Pradesh showed the biggest decline, losing 257 sq km, followed by Manipur (249 sq km), Nagaland (235 sq km), Mizoram (186 sq km) and Meghalaya (73 sq km). The extent of loss was lesser in Assam (15 sq km), Tripura (4 sq km) and Sikkim (1 sq km).
Incomplete picture
The report attributed the forest loss in the North-East to factors such as shifting cultivation, felling of trees, natural calamities, anthropogenic pressure and developmental activities. However, this information is considered unhelpful by scientists as it does not reveal the entire picture.
“It is insufficient to say that the region has lost forest cover due to shifting cultivation and developmental activities. I would like to know how much of the forest cover has been from shifting cultivation, how much from developmental activities or other factors," says TR Shankar Raman, a wildlife scientist at the Nature Conservation Foundation who has worked extensively in the North-East.
“Mining, construction of dams and other threats have a different signature on forest cover loss compared to shifting cultivation, because in the latter, the forest regenerates," he adds.
The scientist says that it is important to map the loss of forest cover due to developmental activities. “The construction of roads on mountains can have a devastating effect on forests," says Shankar Raman.
ISFR 2021 defines forest cover as “all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10%, irrespective of ownership and legal status." However, such land may not necessarily be a recorded forest area as it also includes orchards, bamboos and plantations.
Shankar Raman claims that if plantations are excluded, the forest cover of the North-East will decrease further. “In Assam, for example, there are many tea gardens with shade trees that will easily cross the 10% cover threshold and get wrongly classified as forest. The definition of forest they have used is one of convenience and it definitely isn’t the right picture" he says.
Tracking the deforestation
ISFR–2021 states that the North-East has 1,69,521 sq km of forest cover, which is 64.66% of the total geographical area of the region. Of this, 10.95% is Very Dense Forest (land with tree canopy density of 70% and above), 27.65% is Moderately Dense Forest (tree canopy density of 40% and more but less than 70%), 26.06% is Open Forest (tree canopy density of 10% and more but less than 40%) and the rest is Scrub (tree canopy density less than 10%).
Even though Arunachal Pradesh saw the highest deforestation, according to ISFR–2021, the state still has 79.33% of its total geographical area under forest cover. Lohit and Anjaw districts have faced a forest cover loss of 217.57 sq km, the highest among the 16 districts in the state.
Anoko Mega Miso, a conservationist from the Lower Dibang Valley district, blamed tree felling for the forest cover loss in Arunachal Pradesh. “Since the last 2-3 years, every household has chainsaws. Thousands of trees are being cut not just in my district but all of Arunachal Pradesh," he says.
Logging is a menace not just in Arunachal Pradesh but also in Assam. Conservationist Mridu Paban Phukan says timber logging is unchecked along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
“There is a very active timber mafia active in both states. In fact, rampant cutting of trees is going on even inside a National Park like Dehing Patkai in Tinsukia district. In Arunachal Pradesh, a lot of forest has been lost in districts like Tirap and Longding due to logging. They have targeted most large trees in the forest, including Hollong and Khokan, which are used in the furniture industry," he says.
Assam, which is the most populous North-East state, with a population density of 398 people per sq km (2011 census) has lost 15 sq km, compared to the 2019 assessment. It must be noted that Assam is the least forested North-East state with just 36.09 sq km of forest cover, and every tree cut is a huge loss. Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong, two districts with the highest forest cover in Assam (84.94% and 75.08%), saw the biggest depletion (55.01% and 55.27%, respectively).
Manipur, which has 74.34% of its geographical area under forest cover, has lost 249 sq km of forest cover since 2019. The Tamenglong hill district has 86.42% of its area under forest cover, the highest among its nine districts, but has also faced substantial forest cover erosion (49.82 sq km) just a tad less than Chandel district, which has lost 52.28 sq km.
Moirangthem Loiya, a resident of Imphal-West, who has turned a hill into a 300-acre forest, says that with proper awareness, forests can be restored. “Illegal poppy plantations, jhum cultivation, illegal timber logging and some developmental work are the main factors behind the forest cover loss in Manipur. To ensure that people don’t destroy forests, you need to provide them alternative livelihoods" he says.
Meghalaya, which has 76% of its land under forest cover, lost 73 sq km, as per ISFR–2021. Out of its seven districts, East Garo Hills faced the biggest depletion of 32.04 sq km.
Mizoram has 84.53% of its geographical area under forest cover, the highest in the North-East. Of its eight districts, Champhai recorded 113 sq km of forest cover loss, at least ten times more than what most other districts experienced.
Nagaland, another heavily forested state (73.90% under forest cover) saw its forest cover shrink by 235 sq km. Of its 11 districts, Tuensang has lost 96.12 sq km, the highest, followed by Mon (58.28 sq km). The sole district to see an increase in forest cover is Wokha (12.18 sq km).
“In Nagaland, forest cover has been lost mainly because of road construction and developmental work in the mountains. It is true that we need good roads but it is equally important to draw a balance so that we don’t harm our environment," says Lezo Putsure, an entrepreneur from Nagaland, who is director of the non-profit YouthNet.
After Assam, Sikkim is the least forested North-East state, with just 47.08 sq km of its area under forest cover. It has lost just 1.46 sq km. Of its four districts, it lost forest cover in North Sikkim and South Sikkim, while gaining in East Sikkim and West Sikkim.
Omi Gurung, a fashion designer and social entrepreneur popularly known as the ‘Green Man of Sikkim’, says that the people in his state have been vocal against environmental destruction. “However, even we are facing the ill-effects of forest cover loss. Water supply to Gangtok has been rationed to one hour daily as the source lake froze due to climate change," says Gurung. Also, in recent times, there have been incidents of bears straying into the main marketplace of Gangtok in search of food. This is happening because the animals are losing their habitat," he adds.
Tripura’s forest cover stands at 73.64% of its geographical area. The state lost 4 sq km of cover, says ISFR–2021. Of its four districts, West Tripura (12.36 sq km) is the only one to gain forest cover while South Tripura (10.38 sq km) saw the maximum erosion.
Ominous signs
At a time when the entire world is waking up to the ill effects of climate change, deforestation is rising in the North-East. “The consequences of the forest loss are ominous for the region’s rich flora and fauna and biodiversity. Moreover, it will become vulnerable to climate change impacts due to the loss in carbon sequestration capacity. Deforestation and degradation of forest land themselves generate additional amounts of carbon dioxide, thus contributing to global warming and climate change," says Partha Jyoti Das, an environmental scientist and climate expert associated with the Conservation Group Aaranyak.
Lurinjyoti Gogoi, president of the Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) political party, says that the government should have stricter laws in place to stop deforestation. “Our region is known as a biodiversity hotspot. We need development but it shouldn’t come at the cost of the environment. For example, the site in Changsari where the government is setting up the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Assam is a natural wetland," he points out.
Climate change has apparently been a major deterrent for the tea industry in Assam. Bidyananda Barkakoty, adviser, North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), says that lack of rainfall in 2021 hit the industry hard.
“Last year, rainfall was scant. We could only start plucking from May though we generally start in March. Because of the erratic rainfall, the industry faced a big loss. In normal years, we produce around 700 million kgs of tea. In 2020, we produced 100 million kg less but that was because of the lockdown. Last year, the effect of the pandemic was not much but we still produced 55 million kgs less than in 2019," he says.
The road ahead
The North-East is at a crossroads: should it conserve its unique habitat or or go in for more industrialization?
Ranjit Barthakur, chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) North-East Advisory Council, feels that it’s time to do things differently. “Agriculture is one of the biggest sources of employment for people in the North-East. The loss of forests will only amplify the biggest risks to agriculture in the region today: desertification, soil erosion, shrinking water tables and paradoxically, floods. Agricultural incomes and productivity have already been severely hit by these ecological risks and this will only worsen over the next decade," says Barthakur.
“Declining incomes have already caused a rural employment crisis in the region. Unless we seriously change our course on our forests, this employment crisis will deepen further," he adds.
“We need to invest seriously in rewilding our forests and transitioning to climate-resilient agroforestry that also offers more economic resilience for communities. Investment in a full-scale transition programme like this will generate employment for 2 million households and earn ₹4.5 trillion over a 30-year period through agroforestry, sustainable bamboo and other allied sustainable businesses, and by tapping into global carbon markets," he adds.
Niranta Gohain, chief of the Wave Eco-camp in Assam, who runs two camps in Chandubi and Dibru Saikhowa National Park, feels that ecotourism is the way forward. “Tourists are mainly attracted to North-East India because of the region’s biodiversity and culture. However, tourism here will definitely be affected because of the forest cover loss. We need to ensure sustainable tourism so that there is minimal pressure on the environment," he says.
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