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India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021
January 15 , 2022
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- The Union Environment Minister, Bhupender Yadav has launched the 17th edition of the biennial ‘India State of Forest Report (ISFR)’ 2021.
- ISFR is released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), every two years since 1987 to assess the country’s forest resources.
- India’s forest and tree cover rose by 2,261 square kilometres in ISFR 2021 as compared to the assessment of 2019.
- This includes an increase of 1,540 square kilometres in forest cover and a 721 sq km increase in tree cover.
- The total forest and tree cover in the country is now spread across 80.9 million hectares or 24.62% of the geographical area of the country.
- 17 states/UTs have above 33 percent of the geographical area under forest cover.
- Out of these states and UTs, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya have more than 75 percent forest cover.
- The top five states in terms of increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km), Odisha (537 sq km), Karnataka (155 sq km), and Jharkhand (110 sq km).
- Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country.
- It is followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra.
- The top five states in terms of forest cover as a percentage of total geographical area are Mizoram (84.53%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.33%), Meghalaya (76.00%), Manipur (74.34%), and Nagaland (73.90%).
- There is an increase of 17 sq km in mangrove cover in the country
- The top three States in terms of increase in mangrove cover are Odisha (8 sq km), Maharashtra (4 sq km), and Karnataka (3 sq km) respectively.
- Among the megacities in the country, Ahmedabad has been the biggest loser when it comes to forest cover.
- The Northeastern states saw a decrease of 1,020 sq. km.
- It together account for 23.75 per cent of India’s total forest cover and are among its biggest biodiversity hotspots.
- Arunachal Pradesh lost the maximum forest cover of 257 sq km, followed by Manipur which lost 249 sq km, Nagaland 235 sq km, Mizoram 186 sq km and Meghalaya 73 sq km.
- In total 140 hill districts of the country, the forest cover reduced by 902 sq km in the last two years.
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