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Persistent loss of biologically-rich tropical forests in the Indian Eastern Himalaya

Chintan Sheth, Aparajita Datta, Devathi Parashuram
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/827360
Chintan Sheth
1National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bellary Road, Bangalore 560065, Karnataka, India
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Aparajita Datta
2Aparajita Datta, Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311,“Amritha”, 12th Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore 570017, Karnataka, India
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  • For correspondence: aparajita@ncf-india.org
Devathi Parashuram
2Aparajita Datta, Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311,“Amritha”, 12th Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysore 570017, Karnataka, India
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Abstract

Deforestation is a major cause of biodiversity loss in Asia. Using fine-resolution satellite imagery we assessed the change in forest cover of a state-managed Reserved Forest located in India’s Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hot-spot. Thirty-two square kilometers of forest cover was lost from 2013 and 2017 with a 5% decline in total forest area over four years. Hornbills are a key functionally important species found in the area. We therefore assessed the habitat around 29 hornbill nest trees in this Reserved Forest and estimated that there was a loss of 35% of forest cover from 2011 to 2019. We identify illegal logging (despite a ban by the Supreme Court of India) as the main driver that is depleting forest cover within this important area. Our results highlight the ongoing threats to biologically-rich forests and the need for urgent measures to halt this loss. We suggest that this study has practical implications for the governance of non-PA state-managed forests in Arunachal Pradesh. The ongoing deforestation appears to be due to organized crime, institutional inadequacy from a combination of limited resources, bureaucratic apathy, and/or ambiguity in use and ownership of forest land compared to other community forests which appear to have robust governance systems.

Footnotes

  • This version of the paper is revised based on comments received from a peer-review in Peerage of Science. The introduction has been shortened and discussion has been revised/improved. Methods have been rewritten for greater clarity. Figure 1 has been improved based on reviewer suggestions and Figure 2 has also been modified.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted March 31, 2020.
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Persistent loss of biologically-rich tropical forests in the Indian Eastern Himalaya
Chintan Sheth, Aparajita Datta, Devathi Parashuram
bioRxiv 827360; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/827360
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Persistent loss of biologically-rich tropical forests in the Indian Eastern Himalaya
Chintan Sheth, Aparajita Datta, Devathi Parashuram
bioRxiv 827360; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/827360

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