Responding to a question by an alarmed Rajya Sabha member today, the new environment minister Jayanti Natarajan said that any area with 10% or more tree cover is a forest, as far as the government is concerned.
She said all areas, irrespective of whether they are villages, towns or farmland, is a forest in the eyes of the Government if the tree canopy (leaves and branches) cover more than 10% of the sky. Going by this standard, forests cannot be considered to be declining.
Three researchers, including two ndians and an Australian, had recently published an article exploding the Government's claim that India's forests are increasing in area. At various public fora and in documents, Government officials have patted themselves on the back by claiming that India's forest cover is actually growing.
In a paper titled ‘Cryptic destruction of India's Native Forests,' the researchers pointed out that true forests, also called natural forests, are declining at an alarming rate of 1% to 2.7% every year in India as the population explodes.
They pointed out that the under the Government's definition of forests, it includes sparsely 'treed' areas. Such areas, which include agricultural areas, or villages, cannot really be called a true forest as they do not serve functions such as supporting wildlife etc.. Read the full report here.
Source: by Deepti Rajan, Real Time News, India.
