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    Mumbai's Aarey protests have rekindled the debate over India's forest cover

    Synopsis

    Protests over the axing of more than 2,000 trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony to build a Metro shed have rekindled the debate over India’s forest cover.

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    By Rukmini

    Trees of Bharat
    What are India’s most common trees? Within forests, sal and teak grow the most widely.

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    Outside forests, mangoes are among the most common trees

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    Extent of Tree-Cutting
    In the last five years, India cut every day on an average three times the number of trees felled in Aarey Colony, according to the total number of permissions granted for felling of trees.

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    Looking for Cover
    India claims a quarter of its land is forested, with six north-eastern states reporting 80% average forest cover.

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    18 Years of Loss
    Global Forest Watch claims India lost 16,700 sq km of tree cover from 2000 to 2018, though Indian data disputes this. The platform run by World Resources Institute uses satellite imagery to gather data and differs from official Indian methodology in defining tree cover.

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    Slowdown in the Forest
    Amid the felling of lakhs of trees each year, official data shows there was only a miniscule growth in India’s forest and tree cover between 2015 and 2017.

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    (The writer is a freelance journalist)



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