Forest Cover of Nagaland

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Nature has been kind and has endowed Nagaland, one of the easter most states under Indian union bordering Myanmar with diverse flora and fauna. The forests of the state is home to a number of tribal groups who are commonly called 'Nagas'. These tribal groups in their well- demarcated territorial space continue to live in close association with nature and utilize a wide variety of forests resources for sustenance and livelihood. The forests broadly of tropical, sub- tropical, temperate etc, however, is being degraded over the years by excessive human intervention, making the surrounding ecosystem fragile and leaving a deep impact on the climatic condition. The environmental degradation, particularly in respect of the incessant erosion of once rich forest cover' is attributed to the tradition- bound practice of shifting cultivation by the tribals coupled with the rapid growth of population in the limited geographical area. Besides, logging and felling of trees for commercial and construction purposes, and for firewood are responsible for the depletion of the vegetation.

The 'Forest Cover' which has been undertaken in a modest way is based on Remote Sensing Data and focuses on the mapping out of the status of forests of different categories in each of the eleven districts of Nagaland. The thinning of areas under forests as made out by the study needs to be arrested to maintain the ecological balance and regain the credibility of the state as a 'green state' once again.

WANGSHIMENLA JAMIR. (b. 1974) is a faculty of Geography Department, Nagaland University, with specialization in Remote Sensing & GIS. She graduated from Kohima Science College, Jotsoma, did her Post Graduation from North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong and her Ph. D Degree from Nagaland University. She is the life member of NAGI, IIG, Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Indian Science Congress. She has numerous research papers published in various National and International Journals and chapters in edited books.

T . LANUSOSANG, (b. 1955) is a faculty of Geography Department, Nagaland University. He graduated from St. Edmund's College, Shillong, did his Post-Graduation from North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong and has been honoured a Ph. D Degree on the topic "Nagaland: A study in Social Geography", from Guwahati University, Guwahati. He has a good number of research papers published in various National and International Journals and have published several books. He is presently working as the Registrar, Nagaland University, Lumami, Nagaland.

Frees constitute one of mankind's important assets and play a vital role in the maintenance of our environment. Plants are the ultimate saviour of life support system by their capacity to rejuvenate the environment and maintain ecological balance. Healthy forests are critical both to mitigating climate change and to helping people and communities adjust to the impacts of climate change. Carbon stored worldwide in forest biomass, deadwood, litter and soil totals one trillion tonnes, roughly 50 per cent more than the amount found in the atmosphere. It has been estimated that forests including living trees, deadwood, litter and soil contain approximately 50 per cent more carbon than the atmosphere. The goods and services provided by forests are worth billions if not trillions of dollars to the global economy. They range from goods and services linked with water supplies, stabilization of soils, and purification of the air that we breathe, sustaining biodiversity and tourism, to providing genetic resources and natural medicines.

The forests have been substantially influenced by human intervention for at least several thousand of years. Forest resources and land use changes contribute maximum to sustainable forest management. Without comprehensive information on the status, dynamics and responses of the forest eco-system, it is impossible to evaluate management strategies, or to clearly identify and quantify changes in forest resources, including forest areas and the composition and quality of forests. Forestry information requirements are multi-dimensional and include parameters relevant to production, environmental and socio-economic benefits from and in the forest. The challenge is to improve the management of forests by providing decision-makers and stakeholders with the best possible, most relevant, updated and cost-effective information for their purpose at the local, national and international levels.