Antimicrobial Resistance Threatens Wild Big Cats: IVRI Study

Nilesh Vijaykumar | Hyderabad

Antimicrobial Resistance is no longer restricted to hospitals or polluted urban water bodies. Multiple Drug Resistant bacteria have been detected in the blood of Wild Lions, Tigers, and Leopards. AMR is also an ecological threat.

A study by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) located at Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh has reported finding Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria in wild Lions, Tigers, and Leopards. 

The scientists tested blood samples collected from the hearts of 40 carcasses of big cats — Lions (9), Tigers (26), and Leopards (5). Among them, 30 big cats were from zoos, and the remaining 10 were from the wild. 

And these are not your average MDR bacteria. Some are ESBL-producing and Carbapenem-resistant as well. 

Don’t be deterred if you’re hearing these terms for the first time.

Read ahead. There’s more clarity on what they are and why this is really fucked up. 

What’re Drug-Resistant Bacteria? 

Ever heard or read about the menace called Antibiotic Resistance among bacteria? 

It’s all in the name. 

Bacteria that have developed resistance to a particular antibiotic are known as antibiotic-resistant. They are also popularly known as Drug-Resistant bacteria and in a broad sense, as Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) bacteria. 

There’s a nastier version of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria — the Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR) bacteria. It is resistant to more than one antibiotic.

Then there are the Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR) bacteria that are resistant to most antibiotics and can be killed by only 1-2 antibiotics. 

An estimated 1.27 Million people died in 2019 due to infections caused by Antimicrobial Resistant bacteria according to the Global Burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis published in The Lancet. 

How Do Bacteria Develop Resistance To Drugs/Antibiotics? 

Bacteria naturally develop resistance to antibiotics over a period of time. But this process has been accelerated due to the misuse of antibiotics like:

• Sale of antibiotics over the counter/without any prescription
• Unwarranted prescription of newly developed and powerful antibiotics by doctors, for even minor infections without trying older, effective antibiotics.

Read this for more info. 

What Did The IVRI Scientists Study?

The IVRI scientists studied blood samples collected from the hearts of Lions, Tigers, and Leopards that died in the zoo (30 big cats) and in the wild (10 big cats).

These blood samples were collected by zoo and wildlife veterinarians for post-mortem and sent to the Clinical Epidemiology Laboratory at IVRI for bacteriological analysis. 

Why was blood collected from the heart studied? 

Deaths due to bacterial causes are often associated with sepsis. This can be confirmed through the detection of bacteria in the blood collected from any vital internal organs. However, detection of bacteria in the blood collected from the heart is the best confirmation of a systemic infection leading to death. 

Shocking Findings — Drug-Resistant Bacteria In Wild Lions, Tigers, and Leopards

It’s shocking to note that not just Drug Resistant but Multiple Drug Resistant bacteria were detected in all the ten blood samples collected from the wild Lions(2), Tigers(6), and Leopards(2). 

Something More Concerning 

Among the ten blood samples collected from the wild Lions, Tigers and Leopards, Five blood samples were detected with ESBL-producing bacteria and Three with Carbapenem-resistant bacteria. 

What are ESBL-producing bacteria? 

ESBL is an acronym for the enzyme Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase. Some bacteria produce the ESBL enzyme, which makes them immune to a large variety of drugs/antibiotics. So, basically, these are bacteria that can actively defend themselves against our attack by antibiotics. 

What are Carbapenem-resistant bacteria? 

You’ve to first know that antibiotic is a term that lumps various drugs that help in the treatment of bacterial infections. There are various ‘classes’ of antibiotics like Penicillins, Fluoroquinolones, Cephalosporins, etc. 

Carbapenem is among the latest class of antibiotics. They are known as “last-resort” antibiotics, used for treating infections caused by Multiple Drug Resistant bacteria. 

Drug Resistance Among Zoo Animals 

Among the 30 blood samples collected from the zoo, big cats — Lions(7), Tigers(20), and Leopards(3) — 20 samples had MDR bacteria, 13 samples had Carbapenem-resistant bacteria and 10 had ESBL-producing bacteria. 

Overall — Among the 40 blood samples, 25 percent samples contained MDR bacteria, 37.5% samples contained ESBL-producing bacteria, and 40% samples contained Carbapenem-resistant bacteria. 

IVRI Scientists Have Called Their Findings Alarming — Why? 

Drug resistance is a transmittable characteristic. Yes. It’s a superpower against antibiotics that bacteria can share. A bacteria that have developed resistance to a drug or multiple drugs, can transmit its resistance genetically to other bacteria in the environment. But we’re in such deep shit that this is not the alarming part. This is just a fact now. 

Here are the alarming findings: 

Alarming finding 1 — Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in big cats. 

The IVRI researchers point out, Carbapenems are usually not recommended or are rarely administered to animals. Then how the hell are the Carbapenem-resistant bacteria ending up in the big cats – 40% of all big cat blood samples had them? 

Alarming finding 2 —  The finding of ESBL-producing bacteria among the big cats. 

The IVRI researchers report that E.coli is the most common cause of death due to bacterial infection among big cats. And guess what? E.coli belongs to the family of bacteria called Enterobacterales, which are experts in producing ESBL enzymes to defend themselves against antibiotics. 

Alarming finding 3  — Multiple drug-resistant bacteria among big cats in the forests. 

Where are they contracting them from? Is it due to consuming cattle reared by humans that are often administered antibiotics? Are veterinarians administering Carbapenems to farm animals, that often come under attack by big cats in villages located on the edges of forests? Is this an unexpected medical fallout of the man-animal conflict? 

Studies on these topics are rare. Hope someone digs deeper. 

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India's Endemic Flora and Fauna Species : Unprotected By The Protected Area Network

Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Eastern Ghats
Pic courtesy: Srichakra Pranav, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

V Nilesh | Hyderabad

In India, there’s a massive gap between the forest areas that need protection and the forest areas that are currently protected. Thousands of unprotected endemic flora and fauna species fall through this gap and are extremely vulnerable to extinction. There’s an urgent need to expand India's Protected Area Network to include forest areas that are home to these endemic species, highlights a study by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Center, Hyderabad. 

 

What are Endemic Species?

Endemic species of flora (plants) and fauna (animals) exist only in a particular geographical region and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. 

I believe it is common sense as to why the endemic species need to be conserved — because they are unique, as they aren’t found anywhere else! Some species are so unique that their habitats are located within just one state or a small forest range. 

The Endemic Species Wealth of India

12,696 species of flora and 29,787 species of fauna are found only in India and nowhere else. 

  

According to the Botanical Survey of India, there are 48,218 species of flora (flora includes flowering and non-flowering plants, algae, lichen, and fungi). Of these, 12,696, or about 26% of all flora species in India are endemic! 

According to the Zoological Survey of India, there are 98,156 species of fauna in India (apart from mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fishes, fauna also includes a wide variety of invertebrates). Of these, 29,787 species, or about 30% of all fauna species in India, are endemic. 

India’s Protected Area Network

India has a network of 870 protected forests, known as Protected Areas, spread over 165,158.54 square kilometers, covering 5.02% of the country’s total geographic area. This is twice the geographical area of Ireland. 

The 870 Protected Areas in India comprise 104 National Parks, 551 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 88 Conservation Reserves, and 127 Community Reserves. 

While forests exist outside these Protected Areas, they are not as well protected as Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks that have special protection measures and trained staff to implement them. 

These are Not Enough to Protect Endemic Species, Highlights NRSC Study

A team of scientists, headed by Dr. C. Sudhakar Reddy, Head, Forest Biodiversity and Ecology Division, National Remote Sensing Center, an arm of the Indian Space Research Organization in Hyderabad, conducted a brilliant, much-required study. 

The scientists took a representative sample of 1,322 endemic flora species and 1,326 endemic fauna species for the study. They studied the geographic distribution of these endemic species and analyzed their representation in the 870 Protected Areas. 

What they found is shocking — more than half of the endemic fauna species and almost half of the endemic flora species in India exist outside the Protected Areas. As forests outside the Protected Areas receive less protection and government attention, these endemic species are vulnerable to exploitation and extinction. 

The Shocking Findings

According to the published study, “Of the 1322 endemic plant species, 735 (55.60%) were recorded from 240 protected areas, while 587 species (44.40%) were found outside protected areas.” 

When you look deeper, an ugly picture emerges from the details. The distribution of the existing endemic species in protected areas is highly skewed, as 61% of the endemic flora species (451 species) are found in a single protected area. 

A much less number of endemic fauna species exist in Protected Areas, although their distribution is slightly less skewed. Of the 1,326 endemic fauna species, 457 species (34%) are distributed in the protected areas. This means 869 fauna species exist outside the protected areas. 

These numbers are just for the sample size of 1,322 endemic flora species and 1,326 endemic fauna species considered for the study. If all the 12,696 endemic species of flora and 29,787 endemic species of fauna are considered, the outcomes might reveal an even more shocking picture. 

The study titled ‘Patterns of animal and plant discoveries, distribution and endemism in India—implications on the effectiveness of the protected area network’ has been published in the Springer journal, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 

Indian Endemic Species at a Higher Risk 

The study points out that the Indian fauna and flora are characterized by “a narrow distribution range and high levels of endemism.” This means that in small geographical regions, many diverse endemic species are found in India. This means that the geographic spread of most Indian endemic species is usually small. 

Why is this worrisome? Because Indian endemic species are present in small numbers over a small area. Even minor disturbances in their habitat due to deforestation, poaching, or climate change are enough to wipe them out into extinction. 

Moral of the Story

Conservation should not just be about declaring some patches of forests as Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks. It should also take into consideration biodiversity and, essentially, the protection of endemic species. 

The scientists point out in their study, “If the conservation goal is species representation, then the expansion of the network of protected area system must account for biodiversity patterns, rather than rely on general percentage-based area targets.” 

The study by C. Sudhakar Reddy and other scientists at NRSC is the first step toward analyzing the gap between the protected and unprotected endemic species. 

They suggest a way forward: "This study attempted to provide the first prototype national gap analysis in assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in representing endemic species. It is pointing out the requirement for identifying many geographic regions under an extension of the protected area network. The nationwide studies of assessment of biodiversity across community level to species level are required as a first step towards addressing essential biodiversity variables. There is a need for creating comprehensive geo-spatial data on all endemic and threatened species for effective conservation plans. A Regional Gap Analysis Program is required for identifying endemic species and threatened species, which are not represented within the existing protected area network.” 

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Wheat yields have been declining since long due to rising temperatures in India. But, #Don'tLookUp!

Wheat farm pic by Samuel Myles on Unsplash

V Nilesh | Hyderabad 

I recently watched Don't Look Up. I squirmed at Dr. Randall Mindy getting casually ignored by President Orlean as he informed her of a definitive extinction-level event. 

That's the reel. Reality is worse. Most world leaders acknowledge Climate Change but don't do anything about it. 

The daily news always seems like a glimpse into how humans will go bust. 

The latest in the series is declining wheat yields due to rising temperatures. 

It is one of the many climate crisis SOSs humans regularly receive and choose to ignore.

As I read the news regarding declining wheat yields, I was reminded of one of my unpublished stories from early 2017. 

It was based on a study published in Climatic Changes titled Global warming and local air pollution has reduced wheat yields in India by researchers from the Indian School of Business, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi Centre, and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. 

For some absurd reason that I don't remember now, it wasn't published. 

It's still relevant, and I share it here. 

This is a to-the-point, condensed version. 

The Findings

The quantity of wheat harvested in a span of 28 years (1981–2009), was 5.2% lower than what it could have been. 

The lower harvest was due to rising temperatures and air pollution. 

That's more than 1 Billion Dollars worth of wheat that India lost to global warming and pollution. 

This data is an aggregate for 208 districts in India. 

These 208 districts account for more than 90 percent of wheat production in the country. 

Rising Temperatures

Rising temperatures don't mean just hotter days. They also mean hotter nights. 

Both are dangerous to wheat and many other food crops. 

The ISB, ISID, and IIT Delhi researchers point out:

In the 28-year study period, the maximum temperature in wheat-growing regions increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius, and the minimum temperature increased by 1 degree Celsius respectively.

Why is this scary?

According to the study, a 1 degree Celsius rise in the average daily maximum and minimum temperatures may lower the wheat yields by 2-4% each. 

More reasons to be scared 

The wheat yield loss due to the rise in temperatures was calculated at a whopping 16% in another study by IIT Delhi researchers.

The study Spatial Analysis of Yield Trends and Impact of Temperature for Wheat Crop Across Indian Districts was published in 2021 in the International Journal of Plant Production. The study period was 50 years, from 1966 to 2015. 

According to them, in 145 wheat-growing districts — covering around 77% of the wheat harvested area in India — a 1 degree Celsius rise in mean temperature caused a decline of 251 kg per hectare, which is a 16% loss in yield. 

Decreasing wheat yields due to increasing temperatures is bad for the food security of millions of Indians and people from other developing nations that rely on Indian wheat to feed their populations.

Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Indonesia were among the top-10 importers of Indian wheat in 2020-2021. 

Lately, even the developed nations have been hopeful of getting Indian wheat due to the war in Ukraine, one of the top wheat exporters in the world. 

As India decided to ban Indian wheat exports due to a downfall in production amid severe heatwaves, the G7 nations expressed their unhappiness. 

Let's hope that the situation improves in 2022. 

Ends/ 

Cotton Seed Units Pollute Farmlands in Gadwal For Years, NGT Orders Telangana PCB To Retrieve Rs 1.3 crore Environmental Compensation

Cotton ginning and seed processing discharge industrial effluents and hazardous waste in agricultural fields for years in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana

Polluting units directed by the National Green Tribunal to pay around Rs 1.3 crore Environmental Compensation 

V. Nilesh | Hyderabad 

More than Rs One crore Environmental Compensation is to be paid by 17 cotton ginning and seed processing units in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana, for violation of environmental laws that continued with impunity for years. 

The cotton ginning and seed processing units discharged untreated industrial effluents and hazardous waste into the nearby agricultural farms, destroying the environment by turning the soil and groundwater acidic in the region. 

The issue came to light after P Madhusudhan Reddy of Vitalapuram village, Maldakal mandal of Jogulamba Gadwal district petitioned the National Green Tribunal seeking action against the polluting cotton ginning and seed processing units. 

Reddy had alleged that the cotton ginning and seed processing units use chemicals such as Sulphuric acid but don't process the effluents as per government norms and discharge the untreated effluents in agricultural fields. 

Reddy also raised an issue with permission granted by Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) to the cotton ginning and seed processing units, allowing them to transport and get their effluents treated 300 kilometers away at the Jeedimetla Common Effluent Treatment Plant. 

Following the petition, the NGT set up a Joint Committee of experts to conduct an investigation into the allegations against the cotton ginning and seed processing units. 

Environmental violations observed by the Joint Committee during their inspections include: 

• Around Rs 1.3 crore levied as Environmental Compensation by the TSPCB on 17 cotton ginning and seed processing units is yet to be paid. 
  
  
• None of the units were found to be sending their effluents to the Jeedimetla CETP for treatment and more than 60 percent of the effluents generated by the units were just being discharged into agricultural lands. 
  
  
• Lagoons of acidic effluents with pH values as low as 1.29 were found abutting the compound walls of one of the units. One of the units had been storing the effluents in tanks for more than nine months rather than getting them immediately treated at the Jeedimetla CETP. 
  
  
• Few of the companies were found to be operating without a valid Consent for Operation(CFO) from the TSPCB for more than 1-2 years. 
  
  
• The industries were not maintaining any records for generation and disposal of used oil to authorized user /recycler as per the Hazardous & other wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016. 
  
  
• While all the cotton ginning and seed processing units employed 40-50 workers, none of them provided basic toilet facilities for the workers. 
  
  

The Joint Committee in its report presented to the NGT recommended that all the cotton ginning and seed processing units must pay the Environmental Compensation levied on them by TSPCB for violation of environmental norms. 

Passing its order on the matter earlier this month, on February 3, the NGT directed that the polluting cotton ginning and seed processing units must pay the Environmental Compensation within 15 days, and take up all corrective steps prescribed by the Joint Committee to stop further pollution. 

The NGT also directed TSPCB to take action against the units that do not remit the environmental compensation, by initiating the proceedings for recovery of the same through District Collector by invoking Revenue Recovery Act, 1890. It further directed that the Environmental Compensation recovered from the polluting units must be utilized by TSPCB for the purpose of protecting the environment in that region, by preparing an action plan in coordination with the District Collector. 

Ends/ 

References:

1) Find the judgment copy of this NGT petition here.

When Foresters Speak The Language Of Miners

NBWL approves SCCL proposal for merger of 11 coal mines in Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary's Eco-Sensitive Zone

V Nilesh | Hyderabad 

Do officers of the Forest Department execute the duty of protecting forests, or do they just submit to the whims of their masters in the government? Like bureaucrats from other departments, they succumb to their masters' whims. I present to you one such recent example from Telangana. 

The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life (NBWL) in its 66th meeting held on December 31, granted approval for a coal mining project of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), 6-7 kilometers from the core area of Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary. The meetings' minutes were recently made public. 

The NBWL approval permits the merger of 11 coal mines over an area of 3,296 Hectares (including 372 Hectares of forest land) - all of it located inside the Eco-Sensitive Zone of the Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary. 

The Sanctuary, a tiny 4 kilometer stretch on the Godavari river, covers an area of just 29 square kilometers but is home to various endangered species including Mugger Crocodile - its flagship species. 

The SCCL is a Government coal mining company jointly owned by the Government of Telangana and Government of India on a 51:49 equity basis.  

Without going into the debate of whether the NBWL approval is justified or not, let's see how the Telangana State Forest Department officers fail to adhere to the spirit of their duties and responsibilities. 

When Foresters Speak the Language of Miners

Getting a clearance from the NBWL for taking up a project inside a Wildlife Sanctuary, National Park, or their Eco-Sensitive Zone involves site inspections by forest officers, evaluation of the project's potential impact on ecology, granting of approvals at various levels of the forest department, and plans by the project-proposer to mitigate the effects of the project. 

As part of the process of evaluating the SCCL proposal inside the Eco-Sensitive Zone of Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary, some of the critical project evaluation criteria on which officers of the Telangana Forest Department had to submit their views were:

• Do you agree that the present proposal of diversion of NP/WLS (national park/wildlife sanctuary) area is the best or only option and is viable
  
  
• List the likely positive and negative impacts of the proposed project giving scientific and technical justification for each impact.
  
  
• Provide comprehensive details of the impact of the proposals in terms of Sections 29 and/or Section 35(6) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as the case may be 

The Telangana forest officers who had to respond to these questions were the Forest Divisional Officer of Chennur and the District Forest Officer of Peddapalli. They simply copied SCCL's justification in support of mining and presented it as their own replies. 

When Forest Department officers present arguments of a mining company as their own in support of mining inside Eco-Sensitive Zone of a Sanctuary, be sure, our future is doomed.

Look at the similarities in the reply by the Peddapalli DFO to the question "Do you agree that the present proposal of diversion of NP/WLS (national park/wildlife sanctuary) area is the best or only option and is viable" and the justification by SCCL in favor of its mining proposal. 

Reply by the Telangana State Forest Department officer

Justification by the SCCL for its project.

Do you see the similarities between the two?

Here's another example of complacency by forest officers. Look at the replies by the Forest Divisional Officer of Chennur to questions seeking 'scientific and technical justification' and 'comprehensive details' on the impact of the mining project on the Sanctuary. 

Replies by Forest Divisional Officer of Chennur

The Chennur forest officer mentions that the project area is located upstream of the Sanctuary, that a river (Godavari river) passes through the Sanctuary, and merely mentions the need for mitigation measures. Where are the 'scientific and technical details' behind the need for mitigation measures? 

Moreover, how would the project impact its ecology, considering that it is located upstream of the Sanctuary? 

Would pollution from mining cause damage downstream? 

How harmful would that prove for the Sanctuary's mugger crocodiles? 

Who is supposed to answer these questions, if not the Forest Department officers? 

Past Records Don't Matter?

The Minutes of Meeting of the NBWL Standing Committee that approved the SCCL proposal near Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary mentions that the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) of Telangana (who is also the state's Principal Chief Conservator of Forests) "...informed the  Standing Committee that the area where the mines are located is far from  Siwaram Sanctuary and also from  Pranahita  Sanctuary,  which is a  blackbuck habitat. She  said  that  the  proposed  activity  would  not  lead  to  any  loss  of habitat  or  grazing  area  and  that  the  required  mitigation  measures  are  in place."

The NBWL Standing Committee was happy with the explanation and other paraphernalia presented by the CWW, promising that the project would have no impact on the Sanctuary, and granted its approval. 

Surprisingly, the NBWL Standing Committee did not discuss Siwaram Wildlife Sanctuary's performance in the Management Effectiveness Evaluation survey by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. The Sanctuary was ranked 19th among 37 Wildlife Sanctuaries, and National Parks evaluated in South India, scoring 64.17 percent. 

The MEE report highlighted the lack of food availability for crocodiles in the Sanctuary due to extensive fishing and other anthropogenic threats from being surrounded by agricultural fields. The NBWL Standing Committee didn't see any discussion if these matters had been mitigated. 

To Sum Up

The government has increased public transparency in Environmental, Forest, and Wildlife Clearances. Looking at the various documents available in the public domain, we can see that although the set procedures are being followed, neither the Project Proponents nor Forest Department officers adhere to the spirit of the process. Instead, Forest Department officers have clearly become facilitators of clearances for industries. 

Ends/ 

References - Find documents mentioned in the blog here:

1) Minutes of the 66th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wild Life

2) Documents related to SCCL's proposal of merging 11 coal mines

3) Replies given by the Telangana State Forest Department officials, mentioned in the blog. 

3) Management Effectiveness Evaluation of National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries in India 2018-2019. 

Case Of The Missing Forests : 61,500 square kilometers Of Forests Are Missing in India

Representation pic. Photo by Renaldo Matamoro on Unsplash

• The difference between forest area in government records and the actual existing forest area in India is 61,500sq.km. These are the Missing Forests. 
  
  
• In Telangana state, which recorded one of the biggest positive changes in forest cover as per ISFR-2021(632sq.km), forests are missing over 6,474sq.km. 

V.Nilesh | Hyderabad

There has been a lot of hoopla recently in the media on the numbers reported in the India State of Forest Report-2021 (ISFR-2021) published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). I present to you in this blog the case of missing forests in India.

According to the ISFR-2021, India's forest cover increased by 1,540 square kilometers(sq.km) in 2021 compared to 2019. In the same period, Telangana state's forest cover increased by 632sq.km, one of the biggest positive changes recorded among all states. 

While this minuscule increase in forest cover has become the most spoken about datapoint from ISFR-2021 in the media, a careful reading of the report reveals a lot of underlying gloom in the data that it presents.

The Case of Missing 61,500 square kilometers of Forests in India

Here's some information you weren't made aware of by the media - India's actual forest cover as studied through satellite images by the FSI is 61,500 sq.km less than the combined geographical area officially recorded by the Governments of various States and Union Territories as "forest."

What do I mean?

The ISFR provides data on 'Recorded Forest Area as per the State's records' — a state's total geographical area recorded officially as 'forest' — under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or Acts passed by state governments. 

All the States and Union Territories of India officially recognize 7,75,288sq.km area as 'forest' according to the ISFR-2021. As part of its biannual exercise of measuring forest areas in India through satellite imagery, the FSI could identify only 7,13,789sq.km of forests in 2021, which means across 61,500sq.km area where forests must exist as per government records, there are no forests! 

How much is 61,500sq.km? It is 10,000sq.km more than the landmass of Bangladesh! 

In the case of Telangana, the Recorded Forest Area by the state government is 27,688sq.km, whereas the forest area identified by FSI in 2021 was 21,214sq.km. So over 6,474sq.km of the area where forests should have existed, there are none! 

Pathetic Forest Cover in States Ranking High on Industrialization 

Industrialization does not seem to be treading a sustainable path in the states that take pride in their economic model.

Among the top-11 states of India ranked according to Gross Value Added by their factories in the Annual Survey of Industries-2017, in three states, the forest cover is less than 10% — Gujarat, Haryana, and Rajasthan. Except for Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, forests don't even cover a quarter of their geographical area in the other eight states. 

States in Descending Order of Gross ValueAdded by Factories as per Annual Survey of Industries-2017	Forest Cover (Percentage of Geographical Area that is Forests)	Recorded Forest Area as per the State's records (in square kilometers)	Existing Forest Area as Reported in the ISFR-2021 (in square kilometers)	Missing Forests (Area in square kilometers)
Maharashtra	16.51	61,952	50,798	11,154
Gujarat	7.61	21,870	14,196	6,944
Tamil Nadu	20.31	23,188	26,419	NA
Karnataka	20.19	38,284	38,730	NA
Uttar Pradesh	6.15	17,384	14,818	2,566
Haryana	3.63	1,559	1,603	NA
Rajasthan	4.87	32,863	16,655	16,208
Uttarakhand	45.44	38,000	24,305	13,695
Madhya Pradesh	25.14	94,689	77,493	17,196
Telangana	18.93	27,688	21,214	6,474
Andhra Pradesh	18.28	37,258	29,784	7,474

As you can see in the table above, of the top-11 industrial states of India, except Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Haryana, there is a massive difference between the Recorded Forest Area and the existing forest area as per the ISFR-2021. The other eight states have 81,711sq.km of missing forests, which is a little more than the landmass of Belarus.

Why are these forests missing? Well, hopefully, a journalist interested to know the answer to this question would take it up and ask the forest department officers about it. Although one answer I'm sure about is deforestation and encroachment of forest areas.

Every edition of the ISFR reports a minor rise in the forest cover across various states of India. These improvements won't amount to much until all states recover the entire area of the missing forests, till the forest area existing on ground as seen through the satellite imagery is close to the Recorded Forest Area in government records. And even that would be just a beginning towards the long-term goal envisaged by the National Forest Policy of India, of having 33% of the country's geographical area under forest cover.

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