11.

31
ANDAMAN &
NICOBAR ISLANDS
11.31.1 Introduction

Andaman & Nicobar Islands comprise 572 Islands (including islets & rocks) and has a geographical area
of 8,249 sq km, constituting 0.25% of the total geographical area of the country. The Andaman Sea and
the Bay of Bengal are to the eastern and western sides of the Islands. The Union Territory lies between
6°N to 14°N latitude and 92°E to 94°E longitudes. It comprises the Andaman and the Nicobar groups of
Islands, which are separated by the 10°N channel. The islands lie along an arc in a long and narrow
broken chain, approximately extending North-South over a distance more than 700 km and have a
coastline of 1,962 km. The climate is humid and tropical and the humidity ranges between 70% to 90%.
The average annual rainfall ranges between 1,400 mm to 3,000 mm. The weather is generally pleasant
and annual temperature varies from 24°C and 28°C. The territory is drained by several small rivulets
which end up as creeks often lined with dense mangroves. Kalpong is an important river in Diglipur
Island. Saddle peak is the highest hill in the Islands. The only active volcano of the country, the Barren
Island is located in A&N Islands. As per Census 2011, the UT is divided into 3 districts and has a total
population of 0.38 million which constitute 0.03% of the country's population. The urban & rural
population constitutes 62.30% and 37.70% respectively. The Tribal population is 7.61%. The Islands are
home to six indigenous aboriginal tribal groups viz Jarawa, Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge,
Nicobarese and Shompen. Population density is 46 persons per sq km which is much lower than the
national average. The 19th Livestock census 2012 has reported a total livestock population of 0.15
million.

TABLE 11.31.1 Land Use Pattern

Land Use Types Area (in 000' ha) Percentage
Geographical Area 825
Reporting area for land utilization 757 100.00
Forests 716 94.68
Not available for land cultivation 9 1.16
Permanent pastures and other grazing lands 4 0.49
Land under misc. tree crops and groves 4 0.54
Culturable wasteland 3 0.41
Fallow land other than current fallows 3 0.43
Current fallows 3 0.35
Net area sown 15 1.94
Source: Land Use Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI, (2014-15)

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11.31.1.1 A Brief Overview of Forestry Scenario
Andaman & Nicobar Islands support very luxuriant and rich vegetation due to tropical hot and humid
climate with abundant rains. As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the
forests in Andaman & Nicobar Islands belong to four Type Groups i.e. Tropical Wet Evergreen, Tropical
Semi Evergreen, Tropical Moist Deciduous and Littoral & Swamp Forests which are further categorized
into 13 Forest Types. Nature has provided these islands with a unique and varied flora and fauna. The
surrounding seas are equally rich in marine biodiversity. Due to the geographic isolation of these
islands, a large degree of endemism exists which means that the ecosystems of these islands are
vulnerable to disturbances. The forestry practices in these islands have undergone significant changes
in the last more than 125 years of scientific forestry, influenced by major policy changes and socio-
economic situations. The current focus of forest management in the islands is towards biodiversity
conservation along with sustainable use of forest produce for local inhabitants, to protect the
environment for future generations.

The forests in these islands have a tropical rainforest canopy, made of a mixed flora with elements from
Indo-Myanmar and Indo-Malayan floral realms. About 2,200 varieties of plants have been recorded in
the Islands, out of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India.

Forests in the South Andaman’s have a profuse growth of epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns, and
orchids. The Middle & North Andaman are characterized by Moist Deciduous & Wet Evergreen forests
respectively. The Evergreen forests are dominant in the Central & Southern Islands of the Nicobar group.
The moist deciduous forests are common in the Andamans, they are almost absent in the Nicobar
islands. Grasslands occur only in the Nicobars.

In the Union Territory, RFA is 7,171 sq km of which 5,613 sq km is Reserved Forest and 1,558 sq km is
Protected Forest. In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, during the period 1st January 2015 to 5th February
2019, a total of 20.14 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes under the Forest
Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF&CC, 2019).

Nine National Parks, 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries and one Biosphere Reserves constitute the Protected Area
network of the UT covering 18.71% of its geographical area.

11.31.2 Forest Cover

Based on the interpretation of IRS Resourcesat-2 LISS III satellite data of the period Apr 2017 to Mar 2018,
the Forest Cover in the UT is 6,742.78 sq km which is 81.74 % of the UT's geographical area. In terms of
forest canopy density classes, the UT has 5,677.52 sq km under Very Dense Forest (VDF), 683.89 sq km
under Moderately Dense Forest (MDF) and 381.37sq km under Open Forest (OF). Forest Cover in the UT
has increased by 0.78 sq km as compared to the previous assessment reported in ISFR 2017.

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TABLE 11.31.2 Forest Cover of Andaman & FIGURE 11.31.1 Forest Cover of Andaman &
Nicobar Islands Nicobar Islands
(in sq km)
VDF
68.83%
Class Area % of GA
VDF 5,677.52 68.83
MDF 683.89 8.29
OF 381.37 4.62
Total 6,742.78 81.74
Scrub 1.13 0.01
MDF
8.29%
Non-forest OF
18.25% Scrub
0.01% 4.62%

VDF MDF OF Scrub Non-Forest

11.31.2.1 Forest Cover inside and outside Recorded Forest Area (or Green Wash)
The UT has reported extent of recorded forest area (RFA) 7,171 sq km which is 86.93% of its geographical
area. The reserved and protected forests are 78.27% and 21.73% of the recorded forest area in the UT
respectively. However, as the digitized boundary of RFA from the UT covers only an area 6,747.11 sq km,
the analysis of forest cover inside and outside this area is given below.

Table 11.31.3 Forest Cover inside and outside Recorded Forest Area or (Green Wash) in Andaman &
Nicobar Islands
(in sq km)
Forest Cover inside the Recorded Forest Area Forest Cover outside the Recorded Forest Area
(or Green Wash) (or Green Wash)
VDF MDF OF Total VDF MDF OF Total
5,408 560 254 6,222 270 124 127 521
86.91% 9.00% 4.09% 51.83% 23.73% 24.44%
*in case of A&N Islands RFA boundaries have been used

FIGURE 11.31.2 Forest Cover inside and outside RFA in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

6,000
5,408

5,000

4,000
Area in sq km

Inside RFA
3,000
Outside RFA

2,000

1,000
560
270 254
124 127

0
VDF MDF OF

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
TABLE 11.31.4 District- wise Forest Cover in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in sq km)
2019 Assessment
Change
Geographical Very Mod. Open Total % wrt 2017
District Scrub
Area (GA) Dense Dense Forest of GA assessment
Forest Forest

NicobarsT 1,841 1,147.99 104.99 153.19 1,406.17 76.38 0.17 1.00

T
North & Middle Andaman 3,736 2,670.81 326.90 72.82 3,070.53 82.19 -0.47 0.00
T
South Andaman 2,672 1,858.72 252.00 155.36 2,266.08 84.81 1.08 0.13
Grand Total 8,249 5,677.52 683.89 381.37 6,742.78 81.74 0.78 1.13

TABLE 11.31.5 Forest Cover Change Matrix for Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in sq km)
2019 Assessment Total ISFR
Class
VDF MDF OF Scrub NF 2017
Very Dense Forest 5,678 0 0 0 0 5,678
Moderately Dense Forest 0 684 0 0 0 684
Open Forest 0 0 380 0 0 380
Scrub 0 0 0 1 0 1
Non Forest 0 0 1 0 1,505 1,506
Total ISFR 2019 5,678 684 381 1 1,505 8,249
Net Change 0 0 1 0 -1

Main reasons for the increase in forest cover in the UT is plantation and conservation activities as well as
improvement in interpretation.

TABLE 11.31.6 Altitude-wise Forest Cover in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in sq km)

Altitude Zone (m) Geographical Area VDF MDF OF Total Scrub

0-500 8,238 5,667 684 381 6,732 (99.84 %) 1
500-1000 11 11 0 0 11 (0.16 %) 0
Total 8,249 5,678 684 381 6,743 1
(based on SRTM, Digital Elevation Model, 30 m, 2016)

TABLE11.31.7 Forest Cover in different slope classes in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in sq km)

Slope (in degrees) Geographical Area VDF MDF OF Total Scrub

0-5 3,983 2,339 391 262 2,992 (44.37 %) 1
5-10 1,999 1,460 187 76 1,723 (25.55 %) 0
10-15 1,185 949 74 28 1,051 (15.59%) 0
15-20 651 555 22 10 587 (8.71 %) 0
20-25 299 262 7 3 272 (4.03 %) 0
25-30 101 88 2 1 91 (1.35 %) 0
>30 31 25 1 1 27 (0.40 %) 0
Total 8,249 5,678 684 381 6,743 1
(based on SRTM, Digital Elevation Model, 30 m, 2016)

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
FIGURE 11.31.3 Forest Cover Map of Andaman & Nicobar Islands
93°00'E 94°00'E N

North Andaman

13°00'N
13°00'N

Middle Andaman

12°00'N
12°00'N

South Andaman

Port Blair

11°00'N
11°00'N

Little Andaman

92°00'E 93°00'E

93°00'E 94°00'E

Car Nicobar
9°00'N

9°00'N
8°00'N

8°00'N
7°00'N

7°00'N

Great Nicobar

93°00'E 94°00'E LEGEND

Very Dense Forest
Mod. Dense Forest
Open Forest
Scrub
Non-Forest
Water-bodies
District boundary
State boundary
Capital

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
TABLE 11.31.8 Wetlands inside the Recorded Forest Area (or Green Wash) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in ha)
Wetland Category No. of Wetlands Total Wetland Area
Inland Wetlands - Natural
Lake/Pond 6 44
River/Stream 41 1,592
Sub - Total 47 1,636
Inland Wetlands -Man-made
Reservoir/Barrage 7 278
Sub - Total 7 278
Coastal Wetlands – Natural
Lagoon 2 11
Creek 118 615
Sand/Beach 336 3,883
Intertidal mud flat 354 8,372
Salt Marsh 315 5,546
Mangrove 653 60,576
Coral Reef 375 8,045
Sub -Total 2,153 87,048
Wetlands (<2.25 ha) 60 60
Total 2,267 89,022

Total Recorded Forest (or Green Wash) Area (in ha) 6,74,711
% of Wetland area inside Recorded Forest (or Green Wash) Area 13.19%
(analysis based on the National Wetland Atlas: India, 2011)

11.31.3 Forest Types & Biodiversity

Forest Type Maps of 2011 have been refined in the recently completed exercise by FSI. Percentage area
under different forest types of Andaman & Nicobar Islands as per the Champion & Seth classification
(1968), according to the latest exercise are presented in the following table.

TABLE 11.31.9 Percentage area under different forest types in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
SI.No. Forest Type % of Forest cover
1. 1A/C1 Giant Evergreen Forest 0.58
2. 1A/C2 Andamans Tropical Evergreen Forest 43.70
3. 1A/C3 Southern Hilltop Tropical Evergreen Forest 1.20
4. 1A/E1 Andamans Moist Deciduous Forest 2.31
5. 1/E1 Cane Brakes 0.00
6. 1/E2 Wet Bamboo Brakes 0.33
7. 1/2S1 Pioneer Euphorbiaceous Scrub 0.03
8. 2A/C1 Andamans Semi-Evergreen Forest 29.30
9. 2/E2 (Wet Bamboo Brakes) 0.18
10. 3A/C1 Andamans Moist Deciduous Forest 8.12
11. 3A/2S1 Andamans Secondary Moist Deciduous Forest 0.12
12. 4A/L1 Littoral Forest 0.14
13. 4B/TS2 Mangrove Forest 10.96
14. Plantation/TOF 3.03
Total 100.00

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
11.31.3.1 Assessment of Biodiversity
Findings of the Rapid Assessment of Biodiversity carried out at the national level for natural forests
during September 2018 to May 2019 as part of the forest type mapping exercise is summarized below in
table 11.31.10 and table 11.31.11 in respect of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

TABLE 11.31.10 No. of species observed during the rapid assessment

Plant Type Number of Species
Tree 89
Shrub 102
Herb 79

TABLE 11.31.11 Shannon-Wiener Index of Tree, Shrub and Herb species in different Type Groups of
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Shannon-Wiener Index
SI. No. Forest Type Group
Tree Shrub Herb
1 Group 1-Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests 3.01 3.34 3.28
2 Group 2-Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests 3.19 3.31 3.21
3 Group 3-Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests 2.67 3.10 2.85
4 Group 4-Littoral and Swamp Forests * 2.29 2.11

*adequate number of sample plots were not available

11.31.4 Fire Prone Forest Areas

Geographical area under different classes of forest fire proneness are given in the following table.

TABLE 11.31.12 Forest Fire Prone Classes (in sq km)

Sl. Forest Fire Geographical % of Total
No. Prone Classes Area forest cover
1. Extremely fire prone 0.00 0.00
2. Very Highly fire prone 52.82 0.52
3. Highly fire prone 47.84 0.42
4. Moderately fire prone 51.44 0.38
5. Less fire prone 8,092.41 98.68
Total 8,244.51 100.00

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
FIGURE 11.31.4 Fire prone forest areas under different fire prone classes

LEGEND

State Boundary
Extremely Fire Prone
Very Highly Fire Prone
Highly Fire Prone
Moderately Fire Prone
Less Fire Prone

11.31.5 Tree Cover

Forest cover presented in the section 11.31.2 accounts for tree patches of size 1 ha and more having
canopy density more than 10%. However, trees occurring in patches of size less than 1 ha including
scattered trees are assessed through sampling based methodology. Tree cover in Andaman & Nicobar
Islands has been estimated as given in table 11.31.13.

TABLE 11.31.13 Tree Cover in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

(in sq km)

Area
Tree Cover
41

Tree cover of Andaman & Nicobar Islands has increased by 6 sq km as compared to the previous
assessment reported in ISFR 2017.

11.31.6 Extent of Trees Outside Forest (TOF)

Trees outside Forests (TOF) refer to tree resources found outside the forests as defined in the
Government records. FSI maps forest cover using satellite data and assesses tree cover outside forests
using sampling based method. Forest Cover outside the recorded forest area is derived using
boundaries of RFA or Green Wash. Extent of TOF therefore may be estimated as the sum of extent of
forest cover outside the recorded forest areas (RFA) and tree cover as given in the preceding section.

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
TABLE 11.31.14 Extent of TOF in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in sq km)
Forest Cover outside the RFA/GW Tree Cover Extent of TOF
521 41 562

11.31.7 Growing Stock in Forest

Growing stock in the recorded forest areas (RFA) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands is given in the table
11.31.15. Diameter class-wise distribution of top 5 species in numbers derived from the forest inventory
data is presented in the table 11.31.16

TABLE 11.31.15 Growing Stock in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in m cum)
Growing Stock (GS) % of Country's GS
Growing Stock in Recorded Forest Area 90.82 2.13
Growing Stock in TOF 2.75 0.17

TABLE 11.31.16 Diameter class distribution of top five species inside RFA in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (in '000)

Sl.No. Species Dia class (cm)

10-30 30-60 >60
1. Canarium euphyllum 2,602 2,417 1,301
2. Dipterocarpus turbinatus 8,687 3,370 502
3. Dipterocarpus species 3,532 1,859 558
4. Myristica species 15,837 688 0
5. Pterocymbium tinctorium 2,993 3,662 558

11.31.8 Carbon Stock in Forest

The total Carbon stock of forests in the UT including the TOF patches which are more than 1 ha in size is
112.67 million tonnes (413.12 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent) which is 1.58% of total forest carbon of
the country. Pool wise forest carbon in Andaman & Nicobar Islands is given in the following table.

TABLE 11.31.17 Forest Carbon in Andaman & Nicobar Islands in different pools (in '000 tonnes)
AGB BGB Dead wood Litter SOC Total
49,468 15,823 1,116 2,912 43,347 1,12,666

11.31.9 Growing Stock of Bamboo

Bamboo bearing area and growing stock inside the recorded forest area (RFA)/ Green Wash in the UT
which include culms of 1 year age and above are given in the table 11.31.18

TABLE 11.31.18 Growing Stock of Bamboo in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Growing Stock (GS) % of Country's GS of Bamboo
Bamboo bearing area inside RFA/Green Wash (in sq km) 1,814 1.13
Total number of culms (in millions) 803 2.04
Total equivalent green weight (in 000’ tonnes) 7,199 2.59

11.31.10 Dominant tree species in Trees Outside Forests (TOF)

Top five species in numbers in Trees Outside Forests in Andaman & Nicobar Islands in Rural and Urban
areas are given in the table 11.31.19 and table 11.31.20 respectively

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands
TABLE 11.31.19 Top five tree species in TOF (Rural) in TABLE 11.31.20 Top five tree species in TOF (Urban) in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Relative Relative
Sl. No. Species Sl. No. Species
Abundance (%) Abundance (%)
1. Cocos nucifera 45.69 1. Areca catechu 37.22
2. Anacardium occidentale 16.80 2. Cocos nucifera 17.28
3. Ficus carica 12.00 3. Mangifera andamanica 6.15
4. Pandanus odoratissimus 7.86 4. Artocarpus heterophyllus 5.71
5. Areca catechu 6.86 5. Lagerstroemia hypoleuca 3.58

11.31.11 Major NTFP Species

Major NTFP species as assessed from forest inventory data are presented in the table 11.31.21.

TABLE 11.31.21 Major NTFP species in the UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Sl. No. Species Plant Type Relative Abundance (%)
1. Calamus longisetus Shrub 44.85
2. Calamus palustris Shrub 25.00
3. Curcuma aromatica Herb 25.00
4. Diplagium species Herb 4.78
5. Heritiera littoralis Tree 0.37

Major NTFP species are given in terms of relative abundance

11.31.12 Quantified estimation of Dependence of People living in forest fringe villages on forests in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Through a nation-wide study, FSI has done estimation of dependence of people living in the villages
close to forest for fuel wood, fodder, small timber and bamboo in quantified terms for each State & UT of
the country (Please refer to Chapter 10 in Vol. I for details). The estimated quantities of the four produce
for Andaman & Nicobar Islands is given in the table 11.31.22

Table 11.31.22 Estimation of Dependence of People in Forest Fringe Village Forests in Andaman & Nicobar
Islands
Fuelwood Fodder Bamboo Small Timber
(tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (cum)
22,038 83,405 3,737 2,506

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Andaman & Nicobar Islands