India State of Forest Report 2021 PDF can be downloaded from the link at this post’s end. This post highlights the important points of the recently published “India State of Forest Report 2021”. This is a biennial report published by the Forest Survey of India. This is a very important topic for various competitive exams for the next two years.
Introduction
â–Ş Forest Cover refers to the extent of land area covered by forest resources in the country.
â–Ş The Forest Survey of India (FSI) assessed the country’s Forest Cover for the first time in 1987.
▪ Till 2019, 16 cycles have been completed and the current assessment (2021) is the 17th in the continuous Forest Cover mapping series in the country.
â–Ş The National Forest Policy envisages 33% of the nation’s area under forest and tree cover.
Which type of land covers under “Forest Cover Assessment?”
â–Ş All lands more than 1 hectare in an area with a tree canopy density of more than 10 per cent, including tree orchards, bamboo, palms, etc.
â–Ş Recorded forest and other government lands.
â–Ş Private community or institutional lands.
Who Published the Forest Cover Report
â–Ş Bhupendar Yadav, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change minister released the India State of Forest Report 2021′.
â–Ş The biennial report is prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), which has been liable for assessing the forest and tree resources of the country.
About Forest Survey of India (FSI)
â–Ş FSI was founded in – June 1981
â–Ş Headquarters – Dehradun in Uttarakhand
â–Ş Director General – Shri Pankaj Agarwal
â–Ş Parent organization – Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India
â–Ş The Forest Survey of India is responsible for conducting forest surveys, studies, and research to monitor changes in land and forest resources periodically. This data is presented for national planning, conservation, sustainable environmental protection management, and the implementation of social forestry projects.
The report provides information on
- Forest Cover
- Tree Cover
- Mangrove Cover
- Bamboo Cover
- Carbon Stock in India’s Forests
- Forest fire monitoring
- Forest cover in Tiger Reserve areas
- Estimation of Biomass
- About climate change hotspots in Indian Forests.
Forest Cover Classified in Terms of Canopy Density Classes
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| Very Dense Forest | All lands with tree canopy density of 70 percent and above |
| Moderately Dense Forest | All lands with tree canopy density of 40% and more but less than 70% |
| Open Forest | All lands with tree canopy density of 10% and more but less than 40% |
| Scrub | Forest lands with a canopy density of less than 10% |
| Non-forest | Lands not included in any of the above classes (including water) |
Tree and Forest Cover in India
â–Ş The country’s Total Forest Cover, as per the current assessment, is 713789 sq km, which is 21.71% of the country’s total geographic area.
â–Ş The tree and forest cover in the country include an increase of 1540 sq km of forest cover and 721 sq km of tree cover compared to the 2019 report
â–Ş The forest and tree cover in India has risen by 2,261 square kilometres (0.28%) in the last two years which shows Andhra Pradesh growing the maximum forest cover of 647 square km.
â–Ş According to the report, India’s total forest and tree cover is now spread across 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62% of the country’s geographical area.
| Class | Area(sq km) | Percentage of Geographical Area |
|---|---|---|
| Very Dense Forest | 99779 | 3.04 |
| Moderately Dense Forest | 306890 | 9.33 |
| Open Forest | 307120 | 9.34 |
| Total Forest Cover | 713789 | 21.71 |
| Total Tree Cover | 95748 | 2.91 |
| Non-Forest area | 2527141 | 76.87 |
| Total Geographical Area – 3287469
Total Tree and Forest Cover – 24.62% |
Forest Cover in States and Union Territories
Forest Cover in terms of area (Top 5 States)
| Rank | State | Area (sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madhya Pradesh | 77493 |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 66431 |
| 3 | Chhattisgarh | 55717 |
| 4 | Odisha | 52156 |
| 5 | Maharashtra | 50798 |
Forest Cover in terms of percentage of geographical area (Top 5 States)
| Rank | State | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mizoram | 84.50% |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 79.33% |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 76% |
| 4 | Manipur | 74.34% |
| 5 | Nagaland | 73.90% |
Forest Cover in terms of percentage of geographical area (Top 3 Union territories )
| Rank | UT | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakshadweep | 90.30% |
| 2 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 81.80% |
| 3 | Jammu & Kashmir | 39.15% |
Forest Cover in terms of percentage of geographical area (Bottom 3 States)
| Rank | State | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haryana | 3.6% |
| 2 | Punjab | 3.7% |
| 3 | Rajasthan | 4.9% |
Forest Cover in terms of percentage of geographical area (Bottom 3 Union territories )
| Rank | State | Percentage |
| 1 | Ladakh | 1.35% |
| 2 | Puducherry | 10.9% |
| 3 | Delhi | 13.2% |
Top 5 states in terms of increase in forest cover area
| Rank | State | Increase in Area (sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 647 |
| 2 | Telangana | 632 |
| 3 | Odisha | 537 |
| 4 | Karnataka | 155 |
| 5 | Jharkhand | 110 |
Mangrove Cover
Status of Mangrove Cover Worldwide
â–Ş As per Global Forest Resource Assessment, 2020 (FRA 2020), the world over, 113 countries have Mangrove forests covering an estimated 14.79 million hectares.
â–Ş Largest Mangrove area reported in Asia (5.55 million hectares), followed by Africa (3.24 million hectares) North and Central America (2.57 million hectares), and South America (2.13 million hectares).
â–Ş Oceania has reported the smallest area of Mangroves (1.30 million hectares)
â–Ş More than 40% of the total area of Mangroves was reported to be in just four countries: Indonesia (19) Brazil (9) Nigeria (7) Mexico (6)
Mangrove Cover 2021 in India
â–Ş Mangrove cover in the country is 4,992 sq km, which is 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area.
â–Ş Very Dense Mangrove comprises 1475 sq km (29.55%)
â–Ş Moderately Dense Mangrove is 1481 sq km (29.67%)
â–Ş Open Mangroves constitute an area of 2036 sq km (40.78%)
â–Ş Net increase of 17 sq km in the Mangrove cover of the country as compared to 2019.
â–Ş Significant gain in mangrove Odisha (8 sq km) and Maharashtra (4 sq km).
Top 3 States in terms of Mangrove area
| Rank | State | Area (Sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Bengal | 2114 |
| 2 | Gujarat | 1175 |
| 3 | Andhra Pradesh | 405 |
Top 3 Union Territories in terms of Mangrove area
| Rank | UT | Area (Sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 616 |
| 2 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 3 |
| 3 | Puducherry | 2 |
Bottom States in terms of Mangrove area
| Rank | State | Area (Sq km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kerala | 9 |
| 2 | Karnataka | 13 |
| 3 | Goa | 27 |
Bamboo Cover of India
â–Ş The total bamboo-bearing area of the country has been estimated to be 15.0 million hectares.
â–Ş As compared to the estimates of ISFR 2019, the total bamboo-bearing area in the country has decreased by 1.06 million ha.
â–Ş Mizoram has shown the highest increase of 1085 sq km followed by Arunachal Pradesh (758 sq km)
â–Ş Madhya Pradesh has shown the highest decrease of 2473 sq km in the bamboo-bearing area followed by Maharashtra (1882 sq km)
Top 3 states in terms of Area
| Rank | State | Area (million Hectare) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madhya Pradesh | 1.84 |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1.57 |
| 3 | Maharashtra | 1.35 |
Source: Forest Survey of India
India State of Forest Report 2021 PDF: Download Here
