Odisha has lost 9 sq km of mangroves during the two-year period of 2011 and 2012 as per the assessment conducted by the Forest Survey of India in 2013.
The latest report released by the Government of India a few days ago has shocked forest lovers, who are dismayed to see this steep decline of mangrove forests. It is believed that an active prawn mafia backed by powerful local politicians has denuded the mangroves for conversion into illegal shrimp farms, said Wildlife Society of Odisha secretary Biswajit Mohanty.
Sadly, the mangroves growth trend has been reversed as the 2011 assessment had seen an addition of 1sq km of mangroves during the period of 2009 and 2010.
Though the State contains a small patch of mangroves of 213 sq km, it is very rich ecologically being the most bio-diverse in the entire country. The State has the distinction of being the second highest mangrove-diversity habitat in the world compared to that of Papua New Guinea. Bhittarkanika has 62 species of mangroves and associates, which are not seen in mangrove forests of other States.
Kendrapada district, which has the Bhittarkanika National Park, has the largest patch with 183 sq km of mangroves. Bhadrak district has 21 sq km followed by Jagatsinghpur (7 sq km) and Baleswar (2 sq km).
Despite the State Government’s announcement that a massive mangrove plantation would be taken up post the Super Cyclone in 1999, the State has miserably failed to conserve the existing mangrove forests despite huge funding support from the World Bank-funded ICZM project and the Central Government’s cyclone restoration funds, Mohanty pointed out.
The survey also indicated a severe breakdown of the protection measures of the Forest Department. Odisha has the fourth largest forest cover among States with 50,347 sq km. It has a very dense forest cover of 7,042 sq km, moderate dense forest cover of 21,298 sq km and open forest 22,007 sq km as per the latest assessment.
Compared to the 2011 FSI assessment, the State has added a net area of 1,444 sqkm of forest, which is an increase of 0.93% of the forest cover during the last two years.
Mohanty said it is far more important to protect the existing natural forests. Due to failure of protection efforts both for mangroves and terrestrial forests, the State has lost very dense forest cover of 18 sq km and moderately dense forest cover of 68 sq km over the last two years from existing natural forests which are home to myriad wildlife species including elephants, tigers, leopards, bears, etc.
“In our opinion, due to easy availability of cheap rice in the tribal districts, coupled with the MNREGA work programmes, the erstwhile tribal farmers have abandoned the old Podu or shifting cultivation in many districts like Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Boudh, Kandhmal and Gajapati which has resulted in the increase in open forests of 1,530 sq km. Most of these farm fields located on hill slopes had significant root stock of Sal and other trees which regenerate easily if left untouched for a couple of years,” Mohanty said.
He said timber smugglers are active throughout the State, regularly decimating the dense forests of the Satkosia, Keonjhar, Balliguda, Rayagada, Athmalik, Boudh, Simlipal, Baisapalli, Pallahara, Bonai, Dhenkanal areas.
Sized illicit timbers are regularly smuggled into the major urban centres of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack Angul, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Brahmapur, Baleswar, Bhadrak and Jharsuguda.
Though forest laws have been made more stringent since 2003 with major amendments, the department is unable to check forest loss due to rampant corruption among the field staffs who do not carry out raids or seizures, he alleged.