Home / Environment / Digital Forest Maps: States Ordered to Demarcate Boundaries
Digital Forest Maps: States Ordered to Demarcate Boundaries
15 Apr
Summary
- Union environment ministry mandates digital demarcation of forest boundaries.
- Order aims to curb misclassification, prevent encroachments, and resolve claims.
- Most states lag, with Odisha being the only one nearing completion since 2011.
The Union environment ministry has urged states and Union Territories to digitally demarcate forest boundaries, following a directive from a 2011 Supreme Court case. This crucial step aims to resolve long-standing issues such as misclassification of forest areas, prevent illegal encroachments, and settle overlapping claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
While Odisha has nearly completed over 90% of this digitization process, many other states and UTs are at various stages of implementation. The ministry organized a workshop on April 10 to address the delayed compliance, emphasizing that historical map-based records have led to numerous complications.
This digital demarcation will create a GIS-based decision support database, enabling accurate identification of all forest lands regardless of their legal status. It will strengthen monitoring of forest diversions and compensatory afforestation sites, ensuring compliance with Supreme Court mandates and national forest policy. States can access funding from Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for this exercise.
