Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:03am on 07 Aug 2025,Thursday Weather & Environment
India lost 1,032.89 sq km of forest while gaining just 56.3 sq km between 2015 and 2019, according to a study by IIT Bombay and SASTRA University. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal together accounted for nearly 50% of the forest loss. Researchers warned that most new forests were fragmented islets, lacking "structural connectivity" crucial for biodiversity. Species like tigers suffer in such isolated patches, increasing human-wildlife conflict. The findings challenge the Forest Survey of India’s reports and align with India’s poor ranking—176th out of 180—in the 2024 Nature Conservation Index, highlighting severe ecological degradation and insufficient conservation governance. (PC: The telegraph)
