-Harish Shivnani
There are two important news for those interested in environmental matters. One is encouraging and the other is disappointing. The first news is that India’s forest areas are increasing now, but the worrying thing is that this does not apply to the whole country. Afforestation in India is in a very uneven situation. Somewhere it is happy and somewhere it is sad. In some states of the country, the forest area is increasing, while some are very backward.
The 18th report of the Indian Forest Research Institute, Dehradun and the SBI research report that came last fortnight have stated that with the increase in forest areas, India has come in the ‘top 10’ countries of the world. Russia, Brazil, Canada, United States of America, China, Australia, Congo, Indonesia, Peru and India are the top 10 countries of the world which have the highest forest area. There is a huge gap between Russia, which is at the first position, and India, which is at the last position. While the total forest area of Russia is 814.93 million hectares, India’s is just 71.60 million hectares. Now the figures of increase of 1445 square kilometers of forest and tree area in the country have come to the fore. In this, forest area has increased by 156.41 sq km, while tree area has increased by 1289.40 sq km. Compared to the year 2021, the country’s forest and tree cover has increased by 1445 sq km, which includes an increase of 156 sq km in forest cover and 1289 sq km in tree cover.
The states with maximum increase in forest and tree cover are Chhattisgarh (684 sq km), Uttar Pradesh (559 sq km), Odisha (559 sq km) and Rajasthan (394 sq km). The three states with maximum increase in forest cover are Mizoram (242 sq km), Gujarat (180 sq km) and Odisha (152 sq km).
There is no balance in forest distribution
The report states that India is a country with uneven forest area and it is increasing in states like Odisha, Mizoram and Jharkhand. The north-east and hilly states (like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh) have more geographical area under forest cover. Whereas states like UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab etc. have less than 10 percent forest area of their geographical area. This imbalance is worrying.
According to the ‘India State of Forest Report’ published by the Forest Survey of India, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,27,357 sq km, which is 25.17% of the geographical area of the country. Of this, forest cover is 7,15,343 sq km (21.76%) and tree cover is 1,12,014 sq km (3.41%). However, despite this increase, the distribution of forest area in India remains imbalanced. While some states and territories meet the target of the National Forest Policy, 1988—the requirement of forest cover at 33 per cent of the geographical area—many fall far short of this target. This imbalance has a profound impact on biodiversity, environmental conservation and livelihoods of local communities.
forested states
The top three states with the highest forest and tree cover in terms of area are Madhya Pradesh (85,724 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (67,083 sq km) and Maharashtra (65,383 sq km). While the top three states with the highest forest cover are Madhya Pradesh (77,073 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (65,882 sq km) and Chhattisgarh (55,812 sq km). In terms of percentage of forest cover compared to total geographical area, Lakshadweep (91.33 percent) has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram (85.34 percent) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (81.62 percent).
More than 33 percent of the geographical area is under forest cover in 19 states and union territories of the country. Out of these, eight states and union territories, such as Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur have more than 75 percent forest cover.
The states that showed the highest increase in forest area were Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km), Odisha (537 sq km), Karnataka (155 sq km) and Jharkhand (110 sq km). Mangrove cover also recorded an increase of 17 sq km, with Odisha (8 sq km), Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3 sq km) topping the list.
33 percent forest cover is necessary
Key FactsAccording to the National Forest Policy, 1988, at least 33% of the country’s geographical area should be under forest cover. However, this target is unfulfilled in many states, and the distribution of forest area is uneven.
More than 33 percent of the geographical area is covered by forest cover in 17 states and union territories of the country. These include Mizoram 84.53 percent, Arunachal Pradesh 79.33, Meghalaya 76.00, Manipur 74.34, Nagaland 73.90, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, areas with more than 75 percent forest area. On the other hand
Many states and regions are far behind the target of 33 percent. Among them, Rajasthan has a total forest and tree cover of 25,387.96 sq km, which is only 7.41% of the state’s geographical area. The plain states of North India like Punjab, Haryana and Bihar also have relatively less forest cover. Even the northeastern states, which are the center of biodiversity, have seen a decrease in forest area. Arunachal Pradesh with 257 sq km, Manipur with 249 sq km, Nagaland with 235 sq km, Mizoram with 186 sq km, Meghalaya with 73 sq km are the top five states where a decrease in forest area has been recorded. Apart from these, a decrease in forest cover has also been observed in protected areas like Kawal (Telangana), Bhadra (Karnataka) and Sundarban Reserve (West Bengal).
There are many reasons
There are many reasons for the imbalance in India’s forestry sector. The main reason is geographical and climatic differences. Areas like Northeast India and Western Ghats have dense forests due to high rainfall and favorable climate, while desert areas (like Rajasthan) have limited forest cover. Along with these, human causes are also important. Urbanization, agricultural expansion, and industrial development have reduced forest area in many states. Policy and management related deficiencies, lack of effective control over illegal felling, mining and encroachment are the reasons for forest degradation. Important among these is climate change. Rising temperatures and irregular rainfall patterns are affecting the forest ecosystem, especially in the Northeast and Himalayan regions.
It can be said that the increase in forest area in India is a positive sign, but the uneven distribution of forest cover is a matter of concern. Forest loss in the northeastern states and the distance from the target in areas with low forest cover is worrying. It is necessary to remove this imbalance through sustainable forest management, policy reforms and community participation, so that this imbalance can be eliminated in environmental balance, biodiversity conservation and dealing with climate change.
(freelance journalist)