ALAPPUZHA: Kerala’s total forest cover increased by nearly 27% over ten years, according to the forest department, from 17,300 sqkm in 2014 to 22,059.36 sqkm in 2024. This translates to a 4,759.36 sqkm expansion.
Over the same period, the forest area under the administrative jurisdiction of the department enlarged 226.78 sqkm to 11,536.25 sqkm from 11,309.47 sqkm, the recent forest statistics report revealed.
Despite the significant increase in forest cover, the state’s wild elephant population has declined sharply. The elephant census recorded 6,068 pachyderms in 2007, but the number dropped to 2,386 in the 2023 count. The enumeration was conducted using the dung-count method with the support of the Periyar Tiger Foundation, the Parambikulam Tiger Foundation and the Kerala Forest Research Institute.
By contrast, the state witnessed a substantial rise in its tiger population. The big cat’s numbers increased from 71 in 2007 to 213 in 2022, reflecting the success of conservation measures in protected habitats. On the other hand, the population of Nilgiri tahr, an endemic mountain ungulate, inched down. The species’ population stood at 894 in 2014, but fell to 803 in 2023, according to the survey.
The forest cover -- which is classified as land that has a tree-canopy density of 10% and above and has a minimum area of one hectare -- in the state comprises 2,041.17 sqkm of very dense forest, 9,321.82 sqkm of moderately dense forest and 10,696.37 sqkm of open forest. Scrub accounts for 21.88 sqkm.
The state has a total geographical area of 38,863 sqkm. Of this, 2,905.94 sqkm is under tree cover. Together, the forest and tree cover -- defined as green cover -- accounts for 24,965.30 sqkm.
“The concerted efforts of the forest department and the state government have played a crucial role in increasing the state’s forest cover. Over the past few decades, the department has undertaken sustained measures to evict encroachers and enforce strict action against illegal land occupation. At the same time, extensive afforestation programmes across vast hilly regions, coupled with initiatives encouraging tree planting on private lands, have significantly enhanced the state’s green cover,” Kerala’s chief wildlife warden P Pugazhendi told TNIE.
Departmental land under encroachment fell from 54.98 sqkm to 49.74 sqkm.
The issue is particularly acute in Idukki, where 1,452 hectares of land remain infringed upon. Wayanad has 935 hectares of such land, followed by Palakkad (910) and Malappuram (60), the report said.
During the 2023-24 period, a total of 347 forest fire incidents were reported, which affected 499.274 hectares of forest area.
The Wild Ride
Geographical area of the state: 38,863 sqkm
Total forest area under forest dept: 11,536.25 sqkm
Total green cover in state: 24,965.30 sqkm
Dept land under encroachment: 49.74 sqkm
Revenue from forest in 2023-24: L261.04 cr
Footfall in ecotourism destinations in 2023-24: 90.93 lakh
Income from ecotourism destinations in 2023-24: L71.23 cr