India State of Forest Report 2021
About:
- It is the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s Forest Survey of India’s 17th biennial evaluation of India’s forests (MoEFCC).
- The ISFR 2021 provides the most up-to-date information on the nation’s “Forest Cover” and “Tree Cover,” as well as estimates of expanding stock, the extent of trees outside of forests, mangrove cover, bamboo resources, and an evaluation of the stock of forest carbon.
- A special chapter on “Forest Cover Assessment in Tiger Reserves and Tiger Corridor Areas of the Country and Decadal Change in Forest Cover” has been added this time around in addition to the standard chapters.
- This paper also includes the findings of two unique studies, Above Ground Biomass Estimation Using Synthetic Aperture Radar Data (conducted in partnership with ISRO) and Climate Hot Spots in Forest Areas Studies (conducted in collaboration with BITS Pilani, Goa campus).
- The Forest Survey of India (FSI) team’s most recent projects are also being highlighted in a special chapter.
- The chapter on the evaluation of forest carbon also covers India’s progress in meeting its Nationally Determined Contribution commitments.
Primary Findings:
- A total of 24.62% of the country’s land area is covered by trees and forests.
- 7,13,789 sq km, or 21.71% of the country’s total area, are covered by forests.
- 91% of the country’s land area is covered with trees.
- The latest assessment reveals an increase of: 0.28% in total national forest and tree cover when compared to ISFR 2019.
22 percent forest cover
Tree Coverage: 0.76%
- Change from the preceding assessment of 2019 in the Recorded Forest Area/Green Wash (RFA/GW).
- RFA/GW Forest Cover: A small gain of 31 sq km.
- Outside of the RFA/GW, there has been an increase in forest cover of 1,509 sq km.
The top five states for increased forest cover include the following:
- Odisha, Telangana, Karnataka, and Jharkhand are in that order.
- 17% of the total geographic area of the hill districts is covered by forests. a reduction of 902 square kilometres (0.32%) over 140 hill districts nationwide.
- The overall amount of forest cover in the tribal districts covers 37.53% of their entire area.
- According to the most recent assessment, there is a 600 sq km rise outside the RFA/GW and a 655 sq km decline in the area covered by forest.
- The North-Eastern region has a total forest cover covering 64.66% of the land area. According to the most recent estimate, the area’s forest cover has decreased by 1,020 sq km (0.60%).
Mangrove cover:
- Compared to the previous assessment, the country’s mangrove cover has grown by 0.34%.
Total Carbon Store:
- Estimates place the total carbon stock in forests at 7,204,000,000 tonnes, an increase of 79.4,000,000 tonnes from 2019.
- 27% of the forest cover is at risk of forest fire, according to the report.
Bamboo Forests:
- According to estimates, 1,49,443 sq km of the nation’s land is capable of supporting bamboo. The area capable of supporting bamboo has shrunk by 10,594 sq km compared to the ISFR 2019 forecast.
