Lok Sabha Question No. 4130 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-18
Subject: Effects of Cutting of Forests on the Environment
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Sanatan Pandey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4130

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025

## Effects of Cutting of Forests on the Environment

## 4130.   SHRI SANATAN PANDEY:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether several researches have shown that due to continuous cutting and destruction of forests, carbon dioxide is being emitted in large quantities in the environment resulting in the depletion of ozone layer;
- (b) the action-plan of the Government in view of the threat to various cities of the country due to global warming resulting in melting of glaciers and continuous rise in sea level;
- (c) the details of the reduction in the size of glaciers in the Himalayan region during the last five years; and
- (d) whether  a  number  of  animals  are  becoming  extinct  due  to  continuous  cutting  and destruction of forests?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

- (a) No,  the  Government  is  not  aware  of  any  research  studies  which  indicate  impact  of Carbon dioxide on depletion of the Ozone layer. Carbon dioxide is not an Ozone Depleting Substance  (ODS)  and  its  emissions  have  no  proven  impact  on  the  stratospheric  ozone  layer depletion.
- (b) The  Government  is  implementing  the  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change (NAPCC), which is the overarching policy framework and comprises of national missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan ecosystem,  sustainable  habitat,  green  India,  human  health  and  strategic  knowledge  on  climate change.  Further,  34  States/Union  Territories  have  prepared  State  Action  Plan  on  Climate Change (SAPCCs) consistent with the objectives of NAPCC.

The  institutional  and  regulatory  framework  in  the  context  of  planning,  preparedness,  relief, recovery and rehabilitation due to disasters including weather related disasters have been put in place under the relevant provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005. The National Disaster

Management Authority (NDMA) has issued several disaster specific guidelines for managing extreme weather-related disasters including cyclones, floods and heat waves.

Government of India has implemented Integrated Coastal Zone Management project (ICZMP) that has contributed to, inter-alia, mapping of hazard line, Eco-Sensitive Areas, Sediment cells for  the  entire  coastline  of  India.  This  hazard  line  is  used  by  the  Coastal  State  agencies concerned as a tool for Disaster Management for the coastal environment, including planning of adaptation and mitigation measures.

Further, as per information received from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), it is  implementing  two  national  missions-  National  Mission  for  Sustaining  the  Himalayan Ecosystem  (NMSHE)  and  National  Mission  on  Strategic  knowledge  for  Climate  Change (NMSKCC), and financial support  for  climate  research  is  provided  under  these  Missions  to various academic  and  research  institutions  across  the  country.  The  Wadia  Institute  of Himalayan  Geology  (WIHG),  Dehradun,  under  the  Department  of  Science  and  Technology (DST), is undertaking systematic and long-term monitoring of 13 representative glaciers across different  climatic  and  geographic  zones  of  the  Indian  Himalaya.  This  monitoring  integrates satellite-based  remote  sensing  data  with  in-situ  field  measurements  to  assess  glacier  mass balance, snout retreat, surface velocity, and associated hydrological parameters.

- (c) Several  Indian  institutes/universities/organizations  funded  by  the  Government  of  India through  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES),  Department  of  Science  &  Technology  (DST), Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Mines (MoM) and  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  (MoJS)  monitor  Himalayan  glaciers  for  various  scientific  studies including glacier melting and have reported accelerated heterogeneous mass loss in Himalayan glaciers. As per Ministry of Earth Sciences, the mean retreat rate of Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers is 14.9 ± 15.1 meter/annum (m/a); which varies from 12.7 ± 13.2 m/a in Indus, 15.5 ± 14.4 m/a in Ganga and 20.2 ± 19.7 m/a in Brahmaputra River basins. However, glaciers in the Karakoram region have shown comparatively minor length change (-1.37 ± 22.8 m/a). Based on  field  measurement  of  glaciers  from  1975  to  2023,  the  cumulative  mass  loss  of  Indian Himalayan glaciers is estimated at -26 metres water equivalent.

MoES through its autonomous institute, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has been monitoring six glaciers in the Chandra basin (2437 km2 area) in western Himalaya  since  2013.  A  state-of-the-art  field  research  station  'Himansh'  established  in Chandra basin and operational since 2016 for conducting field experiment and expeditions to glaciers. The glacier inventory prepared by NCPOR for the Chandra basin shows that it has lost about 6% of its glacial area during last 20 years. Annual rate of retreat of Chandra basin glaciers  varies  from  13  to  33  meter/year  during  last  decade.  Based  on  the  energy  balance model, the estimated mean annual mass balance of the upper Chandra Basin glaciers is -0.51 ± 0.28 metres water equivalent per annum, with a cumulative mass balance of -3.54 metres water equivalent from 2015 to 2022.

- (d) Cutting and destruction of forests affects many wild animals including habitat destruction, increased risk of predation and reduced food availability.