Map country’s forest cover every year:Jairam to ISRO

Union minister of state for Environment and Forests(Independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh while delivering an address at Ahmedabad’s Space Application Centre(ISRO) asked scientists at Space Application Centre to start mapping the forest cover in India once in a year now on instead of present practice of doing it once in two years.

“Presently we do mapping of forest cover once in two years in India through ISRO. In Brazil they do it once in six months, and in designated areas they even do it once in quarter,” Ramesh told scientists of SAC-ISRO.

“If we can’t do it as frequently as Brazil does(once in six months), we can at least map our forest cover once in a year, and in important areas like western ghats or north-east we can perhaps do it once in six months if not quarter like Brazil,” ha added.

Ramesh said all violations pertaining to coastal area should be mapped. He also asked scientists to check expanding trend of deserts in the country through satellite mapping.