Alarming: Meghalaya loses 17,100 hectares of forest land in 6 years

Meghalaya has a total geographical area of 22,429 square kilometer, which is 0.68% of the geographical area of the country.

Meghalaya lost 17, 100 hectares of forest land in 6 years from 2014 to 2020, said H C Chaudhary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Meghalaya today.

Meghalaya has a total geographical area of 22,429 square kilometer, which is 0.68% of the geographical area of the country.

Addressing the gathering at the workshop cum training program on Forest Certification and Carbon Credit held in Shillong, Chaudhary said that although the State’s forest cover makes up over 76% of its total land area, open, degraded woods encompass about 43% of that area.

He said that a substantial part of the forest cover, as assessed by the Forest Survey of India, which actually assesses the green cover, is constituted by the horticultural crops.

He said that with institutional and financial assistance from the state and central governments, the majority of these horticulture plantations have been raised in the state throughout the past few decades. Forests have been sacrificed in order to grow many of these horticulture crops.

“Forest has huge potential in Meghalaya because of state’s unique climate, which is ideal for forest land growth and survival,” said Chaudhary.

Meghalaya Chief Secretary, Shri D. P. Wahlang said that the state government has called several meetings to discuss plans for increasing the state’s forest cover and afforestation. These initiatives show a proactive strategy for Meghalaya’s sustainable forest protection and management.

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