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FOUR DECADES OF FOREST LOSS DRAUGHTS IN
KERALA
Energy and Wetland Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Web: Url: http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/
RAMKRISHNAN R., T. V. RAMACHANDRA
Department of Civil Engineering / Energy and Wetland Research
Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012
Email: cestvr@ces.iisc.ernet.in, Phone: 080 22933099
Web: http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy,
http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Mr. Bharat Setturu, Mr. Nimish Gupta, and Mr. Vinay S., for their
priceless help and support. We also thank the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, for their support. We also extend our
sincere gratitude to all other staff and Research Scholars in the Energy and Wetland Research Group at
the Centre of Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
The state of Kerala
has been gifted with
vibrant climate and
vivacious geological
features to support
different types of
ecosystems. Blessed
with such a great
diversity in the State’s
LAND USE DYNAMICS OF KERALA
Kerala - Geography and Demography
Latitude
8
°18' to 12°48‘ N
Longitude
74
°52' and 77°22‘ E
Language
Malayalam
Area
38,863
km2
Elevation
2,695
m to −2.2 m
Population
33,387,677 (2011)
Annual Rainfall
2,923.4
mm
physical settings, it is no surprise that the urban population of Kerala has registered a huge growth
over the last few decades. This has given rise to several changes within the state, demographic as
well as economic. What started with a gentle push from the government policies set in place in the
1940s received a further lunge due to a shift from food crops towards export-oriented crops in the
1960s. Kerala has been the subject of various changes in development patterns over the past few
decades. Increasing urbanization rates require access to more free land for development, which has
become detrimental to our existing forest cover.
Google Earth Images showing temporal variation of Forest Cover
1984 1994 2004 2016
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
Forest
Plantations
Agriculture
Water
Urban
Open Areas
Area, km2
Forest Plantations Agriculture Water Urban Open Areas
1973 24,953 1,851 4,305 350 95 6,143
2016 15,889 9,999 5,179 389 4,136 2,103
Temporal variation of Land Use in Kerala (Area
covered shown below chart, in km2)
Evidence of deforestation, although not available on paper, is widely visible and rings a warning
bell against the unsustainable use of land in the state. Another factor that put the cogs of
deforestation in motion is interregional migration within the state, leading to an imbalance in
ecology. Rapid urbanization with a high % of urban population of 47.72%, also encourages
acquiring more agricultural or forest land near the urban centres, thus catapulting the process of
deforestation even more.
Methodology
LAND COVER DYNAMICS
Kovalam, Trivandrum
Images showing rapid urbanization of two sites
from 2003 to 2016 (Centre image shows
emerging built up areas in red)
Vypin, Kochi
CONCLUSION: Change in land use patterns and urbanization leads to several undesirable conditions
within the state. The state of Kerala receives orographic rainfall which depends on the Western Ghats. Loss
of forest cover on the Ghats could affect the rainfall patterns in such a case. A reduction in forest cover even
results in flash floods with no forest cover to arrest the intensity of runoff. Due to the run-off water
facilitating erosion of top soil, silting happens in dam reservoirs which could count towards a noted average
reduction of 22% in State’s dams’ water storage compared to last year September. This could indeed point
us in the right direction as to why the state is witnessing one of its worst drought periods till date.
