Diminishing Heritage

Nagaland stands at a crossroads. Once celebrated for its verdant expanses and extraordinary biodiversity, this northeastern state now faces an environmental crisis of alarming proportions, with forest cover declining at rates that place it among India’s most imperiled regions. According to findings released in early 2025 based on ISFR 2023 data, Nagaland has lost approximately 125.22 square kilometers of forest and tree cover between 2019 and 2023, ranking it among the top five Indian states with the highest forest decline. Over the past decade, the cumulative toll reaches nearly 800 square kilometers lost-a figure that demands immediate attention and fundamental policy recalibration. The statistics reveal a troubling trajectory. Total forest cover has declined to 12,222.47 square kilometers in 2023, down from 12,274.36 square kilometers just two years earlier, marking the second consecutive reporting period featuring significant forest reduction and cementing Nagaland’s status as one of India’s most critically impacted states. Paradoxically, the state still retains over 70 percent of its land area under forest cover, placing it among the nation’s top states by percentage-yet this apparent abundance masks a deeper reality: the quality and density of these forests are deteriorating rapidly. Forest department control extends to less than 5 percent of forest area, dropping below 3 percent in terms of actual geographical coverage, leaving vast stretches beyond effective management. Since the 1970s, unchecked and illegal logging has systematically stripped Nagaland’s forests of their valuable timber species and medicinal plants while driving thousands of wildlife species toward extinction. The Rangapahar Reserve Sanctuary epitomizes this destruction, reduced from 21,000 acres to a mere 440 acres through encroachment and illegal activities. Conservation efforts, sporadic and insufficient, have failed to stem this tide of ecological decline. Critical threats persist across multiple fronts: hunting and fishing continue unabated, forest fires rage without adequate prevention, and human-elephant conflict escalates as habitat loss forces wildlife into populated areas-conflicts that demand both stricter enforcement of the Wildlife Protection Act and non-lethal deterrent methods. A particularly egregious oversight that compounds these challenges is that, Nagaland remains the only state in India yet to receive any allocation from the Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), despite over 5,883 crore rupees being disbursed to 34 other states. This exclusion deprives the state of critical resources precisely when they are most needed. The regional picture worsens when considering that neighboring states like Assam, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh have experienced significant tree cover losses as well, pointing to a broader ecological crisis requiring concerted action across state boundaries. The Wildlife Protection Act, though robust in its provisions, proves insufficient against the unique challenges posed by local governance structures and traditional tribal autonomy. Strong enforcement coupled with innovative reforestation programs, enhanced incentives for tribal authorities, and genuine community empowerment through education about sustainable practices are essential. Restoring Nagaland’s forests demands a dual strategy that respects tribal customs and rights enshrined under Article 371(A) while aggressively countering threats to ecological heritage. Public awareness must accompany policy action. Unless Nagaland fundamentally reimagines its conservation approach-securing CAMPA support, strengthening local governance capacity, and centering community voices-the state risks irreversible ecological collapse that will reverberate far beyond its borders