Karnataka is virtually sitting on an ecological and environmental tinder box. The State, which enjoys a rich pristine forest and variegated flora, is presently witnessing a slow shrinkage of its woodland cover and resource. According to a latest forest survey State of Forest Report prepared by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, Karnataka's dense forest cover which had remained steady till the 1997 assessment has now suddenly shrunk from 24,854 sq km to 24,832 sq km in 1999.