Khangchendzonga National Park and the three forest categories of Sikkim

Background

The Forest and Environment Department of Sikkim states that the State of Sikkim has the largest recorded forest land area covering 82.31% of its geographical area. Reserve Forest, Khasmal and Gorucharan are the three categories of forest in the State. Khasmal forest is forest land settled and set aside by the Government for meeting the bonafide domestic need of timber, firewood and fodder of the resident of adjoining villages. Within an area of 7096 sq km, the state has 30.77% of forest as protected area comprising of seven wildlife sanctuaries and one national park which is highest in the country. Khangchendzonga National Park, the only National Park in the state is also the UNESCO World Heritage Site declared in July 2016. Land in the State ranges in altitude of 310 m (Jorethang) to 8586m (Mount Khangchendzonga) from MSL, and the State lies in the Eastern Himalayas which is a biodiversity hotspot. There are mainly five forest types in Sikkim namely Sub Tropical, Moist Mixed Deciduous, Wet Temperate, Conifer and Sub-Alpine forest.