PANJIM: Citing non-availability of degraded land to take up compensatory afforestation (CA) towards tree loss in the state, the Goa government has proposed to take up the initiative in Madhya Pradesh instead. In a written reply on the floor of the House, forest minister VishwajitRane said CA has been proposed in Madhya Pradesh due to non-availability of suitable land in Goa to compensate the loss of trees. He said the proposal has been moved as per the guidelines set by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
Rane further said that tree loss due to biotic and abiotic reasons may lead to ecological degradation and can accelerate soil erosion, increased greenhouse gases, flooding, desertification, and climate change.
Quoting MoEF&CC guidelines, the minister said that in exceptional cases where non-forest land for CA is not available in the same state in which the diversion of forest land has taken place, land for CA can be identified in other states, preferably in neighbouring ones.
“The non-availability of the non-forest land for CA in the state will be accepted by the central government only after certification from the state’s chief secretary that more than 33 per cent of its geographical area is forest land,” Rane said.
As per a report by the India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2021), Goa’s green cover is 2,48,821sq km, which is 67.2 per cent of its geographical area. This includes tree cover of nearly 6.6 per cent (244 kms), Rane stated in his reply to a question tabled by Fatorda GFP MLA VijaiSardesai.
