Degradation of forests is taking a heavy toll on downstream water bodies as excessive siltation causes extensive damage to its flora and fauna.

With a forest cover of 21,387 square kilometres and a tree cover of 2,867 square kilometres, Jammu and Kashmir is surrounded by different varieties of trees. In 2010, J&K had 660 kha of natural forest, extending over 8.3% of its land area. However, the Union Territory lost 51 ha of natural forest, equivalent to 57.7 kt of CO₂ emissions. Since 2001, J&K has lost 4.19 kha of tree cover, equivalent to a 0.39% decrease in tree cover and 1.98 Mt of CO₂ emissions. From 2013, 76% of tree cover loss occurred within natural forests.

Besides, 3.86 lakh kanals of forest land has been encroached upon amid boom in construction activities detrimental for the eco-fragile environment.

Construction of roads and other infrastructure projects in forests, in the name of development, disturb the fragile ecosystem. More than losing trees, damage to forests causes extensive siltation in water bodies downstream. Following rains loose soil in forests drains directly into water bodies. Forests form catchment areas of most of the water bodies in Kashmir. Glaring victim of siltation is Asia’s one of the largest freshwater lakes, Wular, in north Kashmir.

Wular acts as an absorption basin for annual floodwaters– maintaining a balance in the Valley’s hydrographic........

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