Timber Mafia and Forest Cover
A 1999 publication claimed that protected forest areas in several parts of India, such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Jharkhand, were vulnerable to illegal logging by timber mafias that have coopted or intimidated forestry officials, local politicians, businesses and citizenry. Clear-cutting is sometimes covered-up by conniving officials who report fictitious forest fires.
Despite these local criminal and corruption issues, satellite data analysis and a 2010 FAO report finds India has added over 4 million hectares of forest cover, a 7% increase, between 1990 and 2010.
Read more about this topic: Forestry In India
Famous quotes containing the words timber, forest and/or cover:
“Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild,
But when they meet, it makes the timber rot;
It frets the halter, and it chokes the child.”
—Sir Walter Raleigh (1552?–1618)
“If I were a Brazilian without land or money or the means to feed my children, I would be burning the rain forest too.”
—Sting [Gordon Matthew Sumner] (b. 1951)
“When you are listening to music it is better to cover your eyes than your ears.”
—José Bergamín (1895–1983)