By IANS,
Shimla : Many trees are dying in Himachal Pradesh forests due to change in climatic conditions, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said here Friday.
Due to climatic, edaphic and physiological factors, the trees are drying in the forests, Dhumal said in the state assembly.
He said since the Supreme Court has banned tree felling in the state, dead trees are only being collected by the state-run Himachal Pradesh State Forests Corporation Ltd every year.
Chil and khair species of the trees were removed from lower hills, and deodar, fir and spruce from high-altitude areas, he added.
During the last three years, the corporation has removed 80,90,17 cubic metres of various species and 49,971-metre girth of khair trees from across the state.
However, the removal of dead, drying and diseased trees is not allowed from national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as per the Supreme Court order of Feb 14, 2000.
According to official records, 66 percent – 37,033 sq km of the total 55,643 sq km – of the Himalayan state is under forest cover.
The lush green valleys and snow-capped mountains of the state are home to 36 percent of the country’s species of birds. Of the 1,228 species that have been reported in India, 447 are found in this state alone.
Similarly, 77 species of mammals – from the spectacular snow leopard to the common Himalayan Tahr, a type of wild goat – have been recorded by the Himachal State Council for Science, Technology and Environment in its biodiversity report.