Tamil Nadu: Forest Dept Sets Up Anti-Flammable Protection Measures In Nilgiris Forest

The State Forest Department has set up anti-flammable protection measures in the Nilgiris forest area. The forest district, which has a sprawling area of 638 square kilometres, is a natural abode for tigers, elephants, bears, and wild bison. The forest area has been prone to mist and frost, drying the leaves, which will become vulnerable during summer, giving way to forest fires.

Forests are assemblages of vegetation dominated by trees, woody vegetation and underbrush covering a large area that support a variety of other life forms including animals, mosses, fungi, micro-organisms etc. They are crucial for human survival since they provide important goods and services especially essential requirements such as oxygen, water, etc.

In India, legal status of the forest is taken into consideration and according to this ‘forest area’ is an area recorded in the government records and is commonly known as ‘the recorded forest area’. In the State of Tamil Nadu, the recorded forest area includes Reserved Forests (RF), Reserved Lands (RL) and Unclassed Forest (UF).

Covering an area of 1, 30,060 sq. km., Tamil Nadu has 22,877 sq. km. of recorded forest area, which amounts to 17.59% of the geographical area of the State. As per the assessment of the Forest Survey of India (India State of Forest Report, 2017), the forest cover of the State is 26,281 sq. km. constituting 20.21% of the State’s geographical area. Right from the time of State of Forest Report (SFR) 1993, Tamil Nadu is one of the two States which have shown positive trend till now.