India’s forest cover has decreased by 367 sq km in the last two years with the maximum amount of forest cover disappearing from the northeast states and Andhra Pradesh.

According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI) report 2011 released today while a total of 867 sq km was lost in 12 states and union territories (mainly the northeast), 15 states registered an aggregate increase of 500 sq km. 

Among those states and UTs that have lost forest cover as compared to FSI report 2009, Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 281 sq km followed by Manipur(190 sq km), Nagaland (146 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (74 sq km), Mizoram (66 sq km) Meghalaya (46 sq km).

Out of 15 states and UTs that registered and increase in the forest cover, Punjab accounted for 100 sq km, Jharkhand 83 sq km, and Tamil Nadu 74 sq km.

FSI officials said the 281 sq km reduction of forest cover in Andhra Pradesh was primarily due to the felling of tree by Maoists. “In six to seven months the Maoists have cut large swaths of forest largely in Khammam district,” said T Chaterjee, MoEF secretary.

In the northeast the prevalent practice of shifting cultivation was cited as the reason behind the decline in forest cover.
For states that registered increase in forest cover a combination of agro-forestry practices and aggressive planting by the local community yielded rich dividends.

Dehradun based FSI has been publishing a series of biennial assessment reports about the forest cover in the country since 1987. The FSI report 2011 is the twelfth report in the series.