Uttar Kannada forest ecosystem, the biodiversity hotspot is threatened due to fragmentation of forests. This work quantified the spatio temporal changes in forest fragments, consciously assessing the social, institutional and administrative causes leading to forest loss and fragmentation. Forest area has declined by 313,379 Ha, evident from the decline of forest cover from 87.51 (1973) to 48.60% (2013). Uttara Kannada landscape is left with only 25.62% of interior forests and the spatial extent of non-forests is 47.29%. The division wise assessment depicts Mundgod and Haliyal with 85% of the division have been converted to non-forest usage. The cultivation in the perforated forest region is affecting natural cover because of diversion of streams and depriving water to the forest ecosystem. There is need for proper assessment of the NTFP resources, which ensure control harvesting of resources, health of forest ecosystems and helps in attaining sustainability. Conservation planning of forest ecosystems need to be holistic considering the spatio-temporal patterns of forest fragments. This helps in  developing appropriate land use decisions and formulating sustainable forest management strategies at landscape level. Suggestions are:

• Encroachment is a major threat to the forests of the region, which should not be allowed and the forest department should take serious steps to stop future encroachments. Here the agriculture and horticulture departments have a vital role to play. The drawbacks in agricultural practices, which lead to hazards like landslides, should be clearly explained to local people. Guiding the farmers for sustainable agriculture should be the primary duty of these departments.
• Dependence on fuel wood, dry leaf litter etc. could be minimised by switching over to viable alternatives like biogas, etc., which needs initiations at the village level. Promoting the Gram Panchayaths to organize the villages and form village committees to monitor and manage the village resources can lead to success. There are excellent examples of success through efficient management of the resources in villages like Halkar of Uttara Kannada District, Hunasuru, Kugwe and Alalli of Shimoga, and Maradavalli of Shimoga. The traditional firewood sellers and contractors should be brought under strict supervision. The firewood collection should be limited only to dead and fallen trees and on particular days of weeks in the presence of Forest Department officials.
• Grazing is a serious problem to forest regeneration and should be controlled. Forest department should encourage the local people to opt for either stall feeding or grazing in grasslands. Advantages of stall feeding include increased dung availability and biogas along with farmyard manure.
• Legal actions need to be taken against unauthorized quarrying. The Mines and Geology Department should take immediate initiations towards evacuating the mining area and suitable conservation measures.
• The strategy followed in forest plantation should be reviewed. Only barren lands should be allowed for plantations. Grasslands should not be used for plantation, but for fodder to domestic animals within the village. Depending upon the livestock population of the village and the related constraints in raising the plantations, village specific strategy should be worked out involving local people.
• In plantations, preference should be given to human energy instead of mechanized energy during planting and harvesting. This shift has couple of advantages like less disturbance to soil surface and increased employment opportunities to local people.
• Most of the degraded forest patches have excellent regeneration capacity considering the rainfall of the area and progress made in protected patches under the scheme of JFPM.
• A number of small tanks in the study area have excellent potential to irrigate the agricultural areas. Thus, there is a need to restore the deteriorated tanks, keeping in view the multiple benefits from these tanks.
• Stream diversion can negatively act upon the riparian vegetation. The drinking water needs of the village people can be met from the well-conditioned village tanks.