Sir,
In our state deforestation is proceeding at an unprecedented rate all over. Agriculture and urban development in some of the areas are the main cause of clearance of most low land forests where lands is particularly suited to agriculture. Old forests are now being cut down at an alarming rate and the timber is extracted and illegally smuggled as many cases were detected in the upper reaches of Chenab valley Bhadarwah, Kishtwar, Ramban and Gool areas. While most of the people in our state today use cooking gas or kerosene a large proportion of residents of rural areas of the state continue to rely on firewood even in the cities. Our 50 percent of the forests are now severely damaged and it has damaged the eco system of the state. At present, the wild animals are vanishing and with them seed dispersal of wild forest plants is also diminishing. The unabated cutting of forests finally leads to pollution and of course global warming. The drastic changes in the temperatures is commonly observed nowadays. The carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere looks set to increase dramatically in the coming years.
Do we have any possibility at all to reverse the trends that means planting of new trees and every tree that is planted soaks up many tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere while it grows. Large scale planting could buy us several decades to redesign our lifestyle in a long term effort to counter the green houses effect.
Forests have been called the skin of the earth. One way or other we have been skinning the earth alive and in doing so we have removed the homes of untold billions of living creatures friendly insects and precious medicinal plants which could have been much more beneficial for human life. At the same time a large proportion of humanity have been deprived off the necessary conditions for a dignified life. It is suggested that the new Government in the centre should bring stringent Forest Acts to control this rising problem of deforestation unabated from the far flung areas of rural areas of country and of course from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Yours etc…
Kaushal Kotwal,
SDAO retd.,
Jammu.
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