Maharashtra’s Urban Forest Cover Shrinks; Pune and Mumbai See Significant Losses
Pune, 25th December 2024: Maharashtra’s major urban regions have experienced a significant decline in forest cover over the last two years, as revealed by the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, published by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Forest Survey of India (FSI) on December 21.
Pune lost approximately 4.57 square kilometers of green cover between 2021 and 2023, while Mumbai reported a reduction of 0.16 square kilometers. However, the suburban district of Mumbai bucked the trend with an increase of 1.42 square kilometers in forest area.
Other districts presented mixed results. Nashik showed an impressive gain of 25 square kilometers in forest cover, while Ahmednagar recorded an increase of 26.48 square kilometers. In contrast, Kolhapur witnessed a loss of 21.1 square kilometers, and Gadchiroli experienced a reduction of 20 square kilometers. Thane and Ratnagiri, both known for their ecological significance, reported stable forest covers at 1,432 square kilometers and 4,292 square kilometers, respectively.
The ISFR report highlighted that Maharashtra’s total forest area accounts for only 16.53% of its geographical expanse of 3.1 lakh square kilometers. This falls far below the ideal target of 33% forest cover. Of the state’s forested regions, 19,415 square kilometers are classified as open forests, 21,577 square kilometers as moderately dense forests, and just 9,857 square kilometers as very dense forests.
Maharashtra also reported a troubling number of forest fire incidents. From November 2023 to June 2024, the state recorded 16,008 incidents, placing it fifth among states nationwide. Notably, Gadchiroli district reported the highest number of forest fire incidents in the country at 7,042 during this period.
These fires, detected using the SNPP-VIIRS satellite system, represent a slight improvement over previous years. In 2022-2023, Maharashtra reported 6,093 forest fires for the same period, while the figure was significantly higher at 32,025 incidents during 2020-2021.
Environmental experts warn that while forest fires have shown a declining trend, the state must intensify its efforts to mitigate risks and implement stricter regulations to protect its dwindling green cover.
