BHUBANESWAR: Illegal mining, urbanisation and smuggling have taken their toll on forests of Odisha in the last few years. The latest Forest Survey of India (FSI) report confirms it. The India State of Forest Report, 2011, reveals that Odisha has lost at least 41 sq km of very dense (VD) and moderately dense forests (MDF) between 2007 and 2009. The 2011 assessment takes into account satellite imagery of the period 2008-2009. According to the FSI report, the State’s very dense forest cover has declined from 7,073 sq km to 7,060 sq km whereas moderately dense forest has declined more __ from 21,394 sq km to 21,366 sq km. However, the good news is that open forest (OF) cover has risen by 89 sq km which means there has been a net rise in forest cover in the State by 48 sq km. The bad news though is scrub cover has dwindled by 118 sq km. The total geographical area of Odisha is 155,707 sq km and as per the latest report, forest cover stands at 31.41 per cent having witnessed a 48-sq-km rise over the 2009 assessment. Among the districts, the mining heartlands of Sundargarh and Keonjhar have lost most of the forest cover, next to Kandhamal. The forest cover in Sundargarh slipped by 11 sq km whereas in Keonjhar, it dropped by 13 sq km. Kandhamal reported the highest loss of 15 sq km whereas Rayagada recorded a 10-sq-km loss. According to FSI Report, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Khurda and Koraput districts recorded a rise in forest cover. Ganjam’s forest cover rose by 28 sq km while Kalahandi’s green canopy went up by 25 sq km. “The increase in forest cover is mainly due to conservation measures and improvement in scrub areas owing to plantation of bamboo and teak species,” it explained. The survey also pointed out that 57.87 per cent of the forests is tropical dry (deciduous in nature) while another 39.88 per cent is tropical moist deciduous. While bamboo-bearing area in the State is recorded at 58,136 sq km, 47,618 sq km had none of it. Only 35-sq-km area has pure bamboo while 2,479-sq-km area has dense bamboo. Another 5,230 sq km recorded scattered bamboo whereas 1,066-sq-km area reported hacked clumps. Bamboo regeneration took place over 1,708-sq-km area during the period.
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