Programmes to Increase Forest Cover

 

Programmes to Increase Forest Cover

Posted On: 08 AUG 2022 4:39PM by PIB Delhi

Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change carries out the assessment of forest cover of the country biennially and the findings are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). This assessment gives the requisite data on change of forest cover in the country. As per ISFR2021, the total forest cover of the country is 7,13,789km2 which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country. The forest cover of the country has increased by 1540km2 as compared to the last assessment i.e., ISFR 2019.Further, the overall increase in forest cover in the last one decade is 21,762km2. The details of State and Union Territory wise forest cover are given in Annexure-I.

Climate Change is expected to impact the diverse ecosystems of the country in different ways. As per India’s Third Biennial Update Report (2021) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the studies on forests and biodiversity indicate that many natural ecosystems in the country are vulnerable to ongoing and future climate change. The studies also show that Indian forests still retain considerable potential for carbon sequestration. The dominant forest type in the country, namely the tropical dry forest, has considerable resilience to store carbon and maintain diversity in the face of climate related disturbances such as drought and fire as per studies in the Western Ghats, though changes in tree species composition are expected to occur. The studies have also brought out the vulnerability of the natural grasslands of the country to climate change with the risk of invasion by alien and native woody plants. There are already indications that both herbaceous and woody plants are moving to higher elevations in mountain regions such as the Himalaya.

Various schemes are being implemented by the Central and State Governments/Union Territory Administration for increase in forest and tree cover in the country. These include, the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Green India Mission (GIM) being implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. National Afforestation Programme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for regeneration of degraded forest and adjoining areas in the country. The scheme has been implemented through three-tier institutional setup of State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) at State level, Forest Development agency (FDA) at Forest Division level and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) at Village level. Green India Mission is one of the eight Missions outlined under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims at protecting, restoring, and enhancing India’s forest cover and responding to climate change by means of plantation activities in the forest and non-forest areas.

Afforestation activities are also taken up under various programmes/funding sources such as Compensatory Afforestation Funds under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), afforestation activities under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), National Agroforestry Policy and Sub-mission on Agro-forestry (SMAF), National Bamboo Mission and National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. In addition to above, State and UT Governments have their own afforestation and reforestation programmes. Almost every State has activities under social forestry, which largely focuses on tree planting in the areas outside forests.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change,Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

 

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HS/PD

 

 

 

Annexure-I

 

 

State and Union Territory wise details of forest cover as per ISFR 2021 (Area in km2)

 

S. No.	State/UTs		Geographical area	Total forest cover	Percentage of geographical area	Change in forest cover w.r.t ISFR 2019
1	Andhra Pradesh		1,62,968	29,784	18.28	647
2	Arunachal Pradesh		83,743	66,431	79.33	-257
3	Assam		78,438	28,312	36.09	-15
4	Bihar		94,163	7,381	7.84	75
5	Chhattisgarh		1,35,192	55,717	41.21	106
6	Delhi		1,483	195.00	13.15	-0.44
7	Goa		3,702	2,244	60.62	7
8	Gujarat		1,96,244	14,926	7.61	69
9	Haryana		44,212	1,603	3.63	1
10	Himachal Pradesh		55,673	15,443	27.73	9
11	Jharkhand		79,716	23,721	29.76	110
12	Karnataka		1,91,791	38,730	20.19	155
13	Kerala		38,852	21,253	54.70	109
14	Madhya Pradesh		3,08,252	77,493	25.14	11
15	Maharashtra		3,07,713	50,798	16.51	20
16	Manipur		22,327	16,598	74.34	-249
17	Meghalaya		22,429	17,046	76.00	-73
18	Mizoram		21,081	17,820	84.53	-186
19	Nagaland		16,579	12,251	73.90	-235
20	Odisha		1,55,707	52,156	33.50	537
21	Punjab		50,362	1,847	3.67	-2
22	Rajasthan		3,42,239	16,655	4.87	25
23	Sikkim		7,096	3,341	47.08	-1
24	Tamil Nadu		1,30,060	26,419	20.31	55
25	Telangana		1,12,077	21,214	18.93	632
26	Tripura		10,486	7,722	73.64	-4
27	Uttar Pradesh		2,40,928	14,818	6.15	12
28	Uttarakhand		53,483	24,305	45.44	2
29	West Bengal		88,752	16,832	18.96	-70
30	A & N Islands		8,249	6,744	81.75	1
31	Chandigarh		114	22.88	20.07	0.85
32	Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu		602	227.75	37.83	0.10
33	Jammu & Kashmir	Shape file Area (54,624)	2,22,236	21,387	39.15	29
34	Ladakh	Shape file Area (1,68,055)		2,272	1.35	18
35	Lakshadweep		30	27.10	90.33	0.00
36	Puducherry		490	53.30	10.88	0.89
	Total		32,87,469	7,13,789	21.71	1,540