MESOSCALE ANALYSIS OF FOREST CONDITION AND ITS DETERMINANTS - A CASE-STUDY FROM THE WESTERN GHATS REGION, INDIA

We present here preliminary results from a meso-scale analysis of fore st condition in a region of the Western Ghats of India where the natur e and extent of forest degradation and its causes have been intensely debated. We use 1:35,000 scale aerial photographs of 1973 to generate a detailed land-cover map, and overlay legal forest regime and village boundaries to associate forest condition with the rights regime and v illage-level socio-economic data. The differences between our land-cov er map and an official forest cover map for that region are significan t, Although denudation is expectedly higher in areas accessible to loc al communities than in state-controlled areas, both the absolute level s and the relative differences are much lower than indicated in the of ficial map or earlier studies. Denudation in private access forests ap pears to be significantly influenced by the cropping patterns in the v illages. We discuss the concerns in applying remote sensing and geogra phic information system techniques to densely populated and diversely utilized forests, highlighting the need for greater access to aerial p hotographs, the appropriate characterization of forest condition, and attention to slope information and positioning errors.