Imkong Walling
Dimapur | April 21
The right over land in Nagaland is single-mindedly traditional with the individual owner exerting greater control than the government. It has to a considerable extent contributed to unregulated clearing of forest for cultivation, timber and firewood.
Out of the recorded forest area of 8629 square kms in Nagaland (as per state government record), just over a thousand square kms is designated as under government control. Around 2842 square kms of the 7621 square kms of forest in private or village control is already ‘degraded’ as designated by the Forests department, while the remaining area of 4778 square kms is designated as ‘virgin.’
According to observations of foresters, who have spent years on the field, contrary to perceived notion, area covered by primary forests has extensively diminished. Government controlled Intangki National Park was quoted as an instance.
The foresters noted that a large tract of the Park is noticeably intact, yet its periphery touching the plains of Dimapur and Assam is already degraded, exposed to biotic pressure. Puliebadze Wild Life Sanctuary, Kohima and Minkong protected forest in Mokokchung are already degraded. A lack of conclusive survey to assess the level of degeneration is further allowing primary forest cover to recede.
In Nagaland, jhum cultivation is attributed as the single most contributing factor to degradation of forests. Increased pressure on land fed by a growing demand for food and firewood has given way to shortening of the jhum cycle.
While shifting cultivation is partly to blame, a greater danger is posed by logging either regulated or illicit. In most cases, logging areas are abandoned after the extraction, left to remain bare.
Jhum lands are known to follow a natural regeneration cycle but it is rare for forests falling prey to logging to regenerate. Aforestation programmes do exist but success stories are scarce. Nurturing a sapling is just as important as planting one.
India State of Forest Report 2015 reported that there has been a net decline of 628 sq km in the forest cover since 2013 in the North East. The loss is more than the total area of Mumbai city.
Among the NE States, Mizoram has recorded the highest decrease in forest of 307 sq km, followed by Nagaland (– 78 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (–73 sq km), Tripura (– 55 sq km), while Sikkim recorded a forest cover loss of 1 sq km. The main reason for this decrease is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting cultivation in the region.
