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Sameeksha Rajpoot, BAJMC IVth Semester
Indian forest cover is the area which is occupied by forests in our country, representing the total area occupied by the forests which include both the natural forest and also the forest that we plant or made. In which the animals, birds, insects etc. lives. Forest cover serves various ecological, social and economic functions like if we talk about the ecologically the forest regulate climate and provide habitat to wildlife promote biodiversity and maintain water cycles.
Our forests which are home to an astonishing eighty percent of life on land and they are bound with an amazing and beautiful variety of creatures big or small as you know some of them. Others might surprise you but even the tiniest of creatures play a crucial role in working hard to sustain life, enabling trees and all the other remarkable plants to grow, sometimes even unnoticed they are the heroes in the circle of life that keeps our planet healthy. Today this biodiversity is under serious threat, millions of hectares of forest are being lost every year we need to take care for our only home by caring for our forests.
According to Forest Survey of India Report 2021, total forest & tree cover in India is 24.62% out of all of our whole geographical land. Coming to India’s major forest covering states, report stated that Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha & Maharashtra are the top states contributing in major forest cover in India.
The tree cover has seen a significant growth of 4904 square km from 90,844 square kilometers in 2011 to 95,748 square kilometers in 2021, representing a decadal increase of around 5.4% Growth.
Source: Forest Survey of India
Data taken by high resolution satellite images – this table shows you the exact values and area wise distribution of forest cover across the country. As the chart shows the top states which contribute to major forest cover in India. Wide changes and reduction are noticed majorly in metro cities. Whereas Green Tropical Zone shows the total forest cover with bars consisting the land area of the state thus the chart mapping the Forest cover as per 2021 report of forest survey of India.
Source: Forest Survey of India
It shows a wide view of India’s geographic state concluding total geographical area consisting forest (Open, Dense & Moderately Dense) & Non-Forest Area.
Source: Forest Survey of India
Source: Forest Survey of India
Source: Forest Survey of India
Source: Forest Survey of India
Source: Forest Survey of India
This data represents the trend of forest cover in Indian States & UTs from past one decade as per the Forest Survey of India’s satellite Generated survey report. There is no significance change seen in the forest mapping of India irrespective of exclusion of Telangana showing drastic difference in graph but also major improvement in middle region forest cover in M.P & Maharashtra.
Forest Survey of India launched and published its latest report in 2021 as per the scheduled survey interval after its 2019 concluded report. 2021 report stated that in 2022 the target to be achieved is 33% as compared to current results of 24.62% of forest cover in India.
