Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States

I just can't resist gloom and doom. Here is another quote from, Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States:

"Kerala has witnessed major changes in its land use pattern. The most important are the shrinking area devoted to cultivating food crops and an increase in the rate of deforestation. The land area used for rice cultivation declined from 876,000 hectares in 1975 to 431,000 hectares in 1996, with the result that local rice production barely meets one-third of the total consumption requirements of the state."

Most of the paddy land is filled in and now has houses, at least as far as I can see while travelling between Punnakadu and Mullaringadu.