Climate change hits forests

AP, Telangana forests among worst affected in country

As the world celebrates International Day of Forests on March 21, forests in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continue to reel under anthropogenic stress and degradation.

The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation+ (REDD+) initiative of the United Nations says, “Deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging, fires etc. account for nearly 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the entire global transportation sector and second only to the energy sector.”

Greenhouse gas emissions are a major reason behind climate change.

Prof. N.H. Ravindranath of the Centre for Ecological Studies in IISc, Bengaluru, an expert in climate change and forestry said, “Climate change has three major impacts: It results in an increase in the number of pests; it causes drought, which when combined with high temperatures, causes forest fire; and it also results in the slow death of plant species which are susceptible to temperature variation, in turn affecting the animal as well as plant biodiversity of the region.”

A research titled “Impact of climate change on Indian forests: a dynamic vegetation modeling approach” states that forests in Andhra Pradesh (and Telangana) will be one of the most affected in the country due to climate change and will undergo 62 per cent change. It also mentions that forests of Eastern Ghats will be one of the most affected regions along with the Western Ghats.

Deforestation and degradation of forests and forest fires, both are prolific in AP and TS. Since 2012, more than 100 sq. km of forests have been encroached and more than 300 sq. km of forests have been degraded.

Deforestation threat due to forest fires also looms large as climate change becomes more realistic. Forest fires have been on the rise over the years, from a mere 33 in 2004 to 2,021 in 2013.