Rapid urbanisation, large-scale deforestation pushing Assam towards climate catastrophe
Guwahati: Rapid urbanisation and large-scale deforestation resulted in the release of over 7 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere on average every year in the state during the period from 2001 to 2024, according to Global Forest Watch (GFW).
This, according to conservationists, resulted in an increase in minimum and maximum temperatures along with an impact on rainfall activity.
GFW is an open-source application to monitor forests and climate across the globe in near real-time and was started by a US-based non-profit organisation called World Resources Institute in 1997. Assam had 24,800 sq km (2.48 million hectares) of natural forest, extending over 32% of its land area, in 2020.
However, the state lost 169 sqkm (16.9 kilo hectares) last year alone, equivalent to 7.7 Mt of carbon dioxide emissions.
The GFW data shows that the state lost 3,400 sq km (340 kilo hectares) of tree cover in 24 years since 2001, equivalent to 174 Mt of carbon dioxide emissions. The state witnessed the highest tree cover loss in 2016 with 254 sq km, equivalent to the emission of 12.7 MT and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
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In its analysis, the GFW found commodity-driven deforestation and urbanisation as the dominant drivers. The commodity-driven deforestation is a large-scale deforestation linked primarily to commercial agricultural expansion. The tree cover lost in the northeast region during 2001-24 is over 74% of the country's total tree cover lost during the period, according to the data of GFW, raising concern among environmental activists and conservationists.
The country lost 23,100 sqkm of tree cover in the last 24 years, of which 17,070 sqkm of tree cover was lost by the northeast region. Assam lost 3,400 sq km of tree cover during the said period due to deforestation and large-scale urbanisation mainly, which is the highest tree cover loss in the country followed by Mizoram (3,340 sq km), Nagaland (2,680 sq km), Manipur (2,550 sq km), Meghalaya (2,430 sq km), Tripura (1,460 sq km), and Arunachal Pradesh (1,210 sq km), resulting in climate change alarmingly.
Conservationists say the loss of tree cover, which resulted in the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, resulted in soaring temperatures and very little rainfall in the state. "It is a serious concern. We must understand why the climate changed in the world, why temperature is increasing day by day, and why the pattern of rainfall changed drastically," said Hemen Lahkar, a city-based conservationist.
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