India State Of Forest Report (ISFR)

India State Of Forest Report: It is published every two years by the Forest Survey of India under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2023 is the 18th such report in the series. The report contains information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India’s forests, instances of forest fire, Agroforestry, etc.

Major Findings of India State Of Forest Report 2023

The Forest and Tree cover of the country is 8,27,357 sq. km which is 25.17 percent of the geographical area of the country, consisting of 7,15,343 sq. km (21.76%) as forest cover and 1,12,014 sq km (3.41%) as tree cover.

19 states/UTs have above 33 percent of the geographical area under forest cover.

Out of these, eight states/UTs namely Mizoram, Lakshadweep, A & N Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Manipur have forest cover above 75 percent.

There is an increase of 1445 sq. km in the forest and tree cover of the country which includes 156 sq km increase in the forest cover and 1289 sq. km increase in tree cover.

The top four states showing a maximum increase in forest and tree cover: are Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

The top three states showing a maximum increase in forest cover: are Mizoram, Gujarat, and Odisha.

Area-wise wise top three states have the largest forest and tree cover: Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Area wise top three states having the largest forest cover: are Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

In terms of the percentage of forest cover concerning total geographical area, Lakshadweep (91.33 percent) has the highest forest cover followed by Mizoram (85.34 percent) and Andaman & Nicobar Island (81.62 percent).

Achievements

The extent of bamboo bearing area for the country has been estimated as 1,54,670sq km.
As compared to the last assessment done in 2021 there is an increase of 5,227 sq km in bamboo area.
The total carbon stock in the country’s forest is estimated to be 7,285.5 million tonnes.
There is an increase of 81.5 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment.

Concern

India’s mangrove cover has decreased. It is now 4,991.68 sq. km, a decrease of 7.43 sq. km.

Gujarat saw a decrease of 36.39 km² in mangrove cover, while Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra experienced increases of 13.01 km² and 12.39 km², respectively.

Forest Fire: The top three states with the most fire incidents in the 2023-24 season are Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.

Forest Survey of India

FSI was established in 1981 and is under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.

Headquartered: Dehradun

It conducts surveys and research to monitor India’s forest and land resources, providing data for national planning, conservation, and sustainable management.

NOTE: India, as part of its contribution to the global fight against climate change, has committed itself to creating an “additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent” by 2030.