In the Western Ghats region, Tamil Nadu has the best record in regenerating forest areas and extensive plantation activities in and outside forests. Goa and Karnataka, too, marginally increased their forest area in 2011.
Kerala was top among the states that recorded a decrease in forest area in the Western Ghats region, according to the India State of Forest Report 2009 & 2011.
The forest cover in Tamil Nadu rose from 23,551 sq km in 2009 to 23,625 sq km in 2011, while in Kerala it decreased from 17,324 sq km in 2009 to 17,300 in 2011.
The decrease in Kerala has been attributed to “rotational felling of eucalyptus, teak, acacia mangium, rubber and shade-bearing trees’’, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan informed Parliament.
The forest cover in Gujarat and Maharashtra, too, registered a decrease, with ‘private felling’ cited as the main cause in the case of Gujarat, a Ministry release said.