Guwahati, July 8: The Northeast has lost 627 square km of forests since 2011, the State of Forest Report (2013) released today in New Delhi stated.

“The current assessment shows a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 627 square km in the Northeast. The main reason for this decrease is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting cultivation in the region…” the report said.

The report was released by minister of state (independent charge) for environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javadekar today.

The highest loss in forest cover has been suffered by Nagaland (274 square km), Tripura (111 square km), Manipur (100 square km), Arunachal Pradesh (89 square km), Mizoram (63 square km). Meghalaya is the only state in the Northeast which has gained 13 square km in forest cover.

Meghalaya’s gain has been attributed to better protection measures leading to increase and regeneration and afforestation activities carried out by the state forest department.

The State of Forest Report is released once in two years. Compared to the assessment of 2011, there is an increase of 5,871 square km in the forest cover of the country. The Northeast, which constitutes only 7.98 per cent of the geographical area of the country, accounts for nearly a quarter of its forest cover. Because of its rich biodiversity, the region has been identified as one of the 18 biodiversity hot spots of the world.

One distinct feature of land use here is shifting cultivation in hilly parts of almost all states of the region.

Shifting cultivation has traditionally been the main source of livelihood of the indigenous people linked to their socio-cultural life.

The decrease in Arunachal Pradesh, which is 89 square km, is because of shifting cultivation practices and biotic pressure in many districts. “However, in some areas, regeneration of bamboo and other miscellaneous species and plantation by state forest department has been observed…” the report mentioned.

In Assam, the loss of 2 square km has been attributed to encroachment, biotic pressure and shifting cultivation practices.

The 100 square km loss in Manipur is because of shifting cultivation practices and biotic pressure in major parts of the state.

Nagaland, which has suffered a whopping 274 square km loss, is because of biotic pressure, particularly the shortening of shifting cultivation cycle.

In Mizoram, the main reason for the change in forest cover is shifting cultivation, soil erosion and biotic pressure.

The main reason for change in forest cover in Tripura is shifting cultivation, which is widely practised across the state.