- NET Web Desk
Known for its diverse and most extensive ageless forest cover, the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh plays a significant role in the development of ecological niches across the region. Unfortunately this region has been facing the grave threat of deforestation thereby affecting wildlife, ecosystems & weather patterns. Responding to the same, the Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh – Chowna Mein on Thursday asserted that the frontier state lost its forest cover due to developmental projects and natural disasters like landslides and floods.
Quoting the ISFR report, Mein shared that the state has witnessed the maximum loss of forest cover during 2019-2021 (257 sq kms).
“Climate change is one of the greatest threats to earth ecosystems and global security, which might pose challenge to the State’s rich biological as well as cultural diversity and sustainability.” – added Mein.
He informed the same., while addressing a conglomeration of environmental and climate change experts, legislators, govt officers and students during a seminar on ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Future – The Arunachal Perspective’.
Organized by the Golden Jubillee Celebration Committee on Thursday, Mein highlighted the urgency in mitigating climate change impacts on our ecosystems and food security.
“Arunachal Pradesh, being an entirely tribal state, forests has been the mainstay for the livelihood of local people dependent on forest resources,” he said.
Furthermore, Mein also shared that the impact of climate change is already visible in Arunachal Pradesh, the five rivers of Arunachal Pradesh, i.e., Siang, Lohit, Tirap, Subansiri and Kameng losses its original green emerald colours and has now diminished due to increase in turbidity.
If the recently-released India State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2021 report is taken into context, the green cover in the Northeastern region of India witnessed severe declination by 1,020 square kilometres during 2019-2021.
However, the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh lost the maximum cover of 257 sq kms during this time frame, followed by Meghalaya – 249 sq kms, Nagaland 235 sq kms, Mizoram 186 sq kms, Meghalaya 73 sq kms, Assam 15 sq kms, Tripura 4 sq kms and Sikkim lost one square kilometre forest cover.
