Raising a red flag against the developmental activities undertaken in the state, an expert report suggests that 18 percent of the forest area in the state would be vulnerable by 2030.
According to a report by the Indian Network on Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) called ‘Climate change and India: A 4x4 assessment’, forests in the state will indicate shifts in boundary, changes in species-assemblage or forest types, changes in net primary productivity, possible dieback in the transient phase, and potential loss or change in biodiversity in 2050’s and 2080’s.
The study also projects enhanced levels of carbon dioxide to result in an increase in the net primary productivity (NPP) of forest ecosystems in more than 75 percent of the forest area.
The INCCA is a network-based programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which consists of over 120 institutions and over 250 scientists nationwide. Environmentalists point out that the erroneous policies by the state government is the major reason behind the destruction of forest.
Of the total length of about 1800 km of Western Ghats, approximately 450 km falls in Kerala, with a break at Palaghat. The ghats region of Kerala covers nearly 21,856 sq km or 56 percent of the total geographical area of the State. According to INCCA report 3934.08 sq km forest area will be under threat of destruction in the coming 15 years.
Commenting on the report, K J Tomy, state president, Kerala Paristithi Malineekarana Nirmarjana Samithi, said that the government only builds buildings to project itself as pro-developmental.
“The state government now uses ‘development’ as a mask to destroy forests across the state. Although the state faces severe land crunch, 3.43 percent of the total population of the country resides in Kerala, which takes up only 1.18 per cent of the total area of India,it is not an excuse to destroy forests,” he added.
He pointed out the immediate requirement is to frame a policy to tackle the problem of de-forestation here. It is projected that in 2050, most of the forest biomes in India will be vulnerable to the projected change in climate. Similarly, about 70 percent of the vegetation in India is likely to be vulnerable to the adverse climatic conditions as well as to the increased biotic stresses.
