losses over 50,000 hectares of forest land due to commercial activities
Himalayan state is losing its unique range of biodiversity and the number of endemic species is decreasing every year
Devesh Dubey
Uttarakhand is witnessing rapid deforestation as a result of commercial activities and incidence of frequent forest fire. More than 50% in Himalayan forests in Uttarakhand are prone to high incidence of fire, mostly due to human activities. According to the data given by Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), 44,868 ha of forestland have been diverted to non-forest use in Uttarakhand since 1980. Of this, a limit of 9,500 ha has been redirected for development of streets, trailed by 5,500 ha for hydel ventures and 3,100 ha for transmission lines. The greater part of the woodland preoccupation (68 percent) in the state has occurred after the arrangement of the state in 2000. As per the data by the forest department, the state where more than 2/3rds of the land is covered with forests has lost over 50,000 hectares of them to various activities in the past 20 years—from March 2000 to November 2020.
Forest fire is one of the major causes of degradation of forests in the state and is a regular feature every year causing large scale destruction of the forest ecosystems. More than 50% in Himalayan forests in Uttarakhand are prone to high incidence of fire, mostly due to human activities. Thousands hectares of forest every year are burnt into smoke. In 2019 only 2158 incidents of wildfire were recorded in which 3000 ha of forest were lost to smoke. Majority of fires are due to humans and natural causes of fires such as lightning are very less. Causes of forest fires in the western Himalayas of India are due to forest being burnt by villagers for a good growth of grass in the next season; burning of wild grass or undergrowth in the forest in search of game animals, use of fire for collecting forest products like honey, gum etc. and to destroy stumps of illegal felling activities. Accidental fires are also due to carelessness of humans, such as throwing of burning match sticks or cigarettes and spread of fire from picnic sites and other recreational areas.
The Forest Department uses forests more as a source of raw materials for industries and as a revenue generating machine for the state. Large tracts of broad-leaved banj (oak) or oak and burans (rhododendron) forests were replaced by chir pine plantations. Pine is the major source of timber and resin which is used in industries. But it does not help the forest to provide the same level and quality of environmental services.
Biodiversity in danger
Uttarakhand is endowed with a unique and diverse range of biodiversity. From the snowbound pinnacles of the Himalayas to the clammy Alpine scour, sub Alpine woods, dry – mild and damp calm backwoods to wet deciduous woodlands, the state has a wide biodiversity that consequently supports a huge variety of flower and faunal structures. Due to deforestation every year Uttarakhand is losing its unique range of biodiversity and the number of endemic species is decreasing every year.
With deforestation, there is a huge loss of topsoil and the moisture in the atmosphere is decreasing resulting in soil erosion and desertification. Which is affecting the overall efficiency of soil and the production of crops is decreasing. Having very low fertile soil and poor irrigation facilities, most families in hilly areas are unable to grow sufficient crops to meet the annual household requirements. Therefore many farming families have given up farming and are migrating to cities.
Deforestation also leads to an increase in greenhouse effect and further leads to global warming and rise in temperature. Which is the major cause of floods, landslides and climate change.
Climate change has emerged as a critical issue in the state. Uncertainty of rain and snow appears to be increasing. Rain in the winter season has almost disappeared and the inner Himalayan peaks have much less snow as compared to earlier. The frequency of extreme weather events seems to be increasing. Many places in Uttarakhand saw drought during the year 2009 but 2010 saw heavy rains and landslides in the Kumaon region during the monsoon season.
Massive floods and landslides in June 2013 led to Uttarakhand’s worst disaster in living memory in which more than 2000 houses were wiped out, dead and missing people’s toll were over 6,000 people and has cost Uttarakhand Rs 50,000 crore in infrastructural loss.
Uttarakhand govt is already working on forming a ‘Van Sena’ (forest army) at the state, district, and block and village level for the protection of the forests. The main objective of this army would be to collect information related to preservation of the forests, keeping an eye on illegal activities, stopping human activities that are harmful for the forests and communicating it to the forest department.
The government’s decision to create ‘green belts’ for forest protection is also a welcome step as under this scheme plans are afoot to regenerate forests with the varieties of flora.
We need alternate source of energy for decreasing our dependence on Hydroelectric power plants for electricity and for that we should use solar energy more for our daily household electricity requirements and Uttarakhand government has also launched Mukhyamantri Saur Swarojgar Yojna in which the government will help people to setup 25kW solar energy unit in their field which will generate approximately 38000 unit of electricity yearly and government will buy that.
Families in rural areas of Uttarakhand are still dependent on wood for cooking their food. Providing them LPG connections would also be beneficial and will decrease the deforestation.
Strengthening decentralized forest governance institutions like the Van Panchayats, Mahila Mandal Dals better measures to contain forest fires, biodiversity conservation. Chandi Prasad Bhatt, during his tenure as a member of the National Forest Commission had proposed the concept of a Gram Van (village forest). He also suggested that village common land, or civil or reserved forests lying within a 5 km radius of a village, should be developed as Gram Vans. They should be managed by the village officials.
Generating new employments, providing better health and education facilities in the rural areas so that families do not need to migrate to the cities.
Also, we need to learn how to balance individual interests with the common good while acknowledging the interrelation of all ecological, social, and economic processes. Therefore, the short-term benefits will have to be forsaken in favour of the long-term objectives so that the next generation has not to suffer and have the resources we are enjoying.
Uttarakhand’s rich flora and fauna
Uttarakhand has a forest area covering 38,000 sq km, which forms over 70 per cent of the total geographical area of the state. It houses unique, rich flora and fauna—112 species of trees, 73 species of shrubs, and 94 species of herbs.
Uttarakhand mainly consists of tropical rainforests and alpine trees. There are also 12 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries within the north Indian state, which form 13.8% of the total area.
Some of the important trees found in Uttarakhand are the Himalayan cedar, rhododendron Himalayan pine, oak, chestnut, spruce, elm, poplar, birch, yew and cypress. Together, these trees are home to a variety of plant and animal species, including tigers, sloth bears, elephants, langurs, common otters, and rhesus monkeys, to name a few.
Forests being destroyed for commercial purposes
For the past few decades, however, the forest cover across the state has been cut-down to a great extent, and the top commercial activities to blame are mining, hydropower plants, road construction, distribution lines, water pipelines and irrigation. Around 21,207 hectares of forest land was lost due to all these activities.
The highest deforestation was caused by mining activities, which cost 8,760 hectares of land, closely followed by road construction (7,539 ha), power distribution lines (2,332 ha), and hydropower plant projects (2,295 ha). The remaining forest loss of 20,998 hectares was due to smaller activities like railways, defence, laying down optical fibres, building construction, rehabilitation, etc.
Looking at the district-wise data, Dehradun witnessed the highest amount of loss of 21,303 ha, followed by Haridwar (6,826 hectares), Chamoli (3,636 ha), Tehri (2,671 ha), and Pithoragarh (2,451 ha).
