The country’s tree and forest cover has increased by 5,188 sq km in the past two years, according to the India State of Forest Report, 2019, released by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar here today.
The increase — 5,188 sq km — includes both forest cover (3,976 sq km) and tree cover (1,212 sq km). Tree cover (small patches of less than one hectare outside forests) at 95,027 sq km contributes an additional 2.89 per cent to the coverage.
The National Forest Policy aims to bring 33 per cent of the geographical area under forest cover. “India is among few countries in the world where forest cover is consistently increasing,” Javadekar said.
“Under the current assessment, the total carbon stock in the country’s forest is estimated 7,124.6 million tonnes and there is an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2017,” he added.
“Range increase in forest cover has been observed in open forest followed by very dense forest and moderately dense forest. Forest and tree cover has increased by more than 130 million hectares in the past four years. The report gives us confidence that we are on track to achieve our Paris Agreement goals,” he said.
Incidentally, the forest cover within the Recorded Forest Area has shown a slight decrease of 330 sq km (0.05 per cent) and forest outside an increase of 4,306 sq km outside the RFA/GW as compared to previous assessment of 2017.
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have recorded the highest increase in the forest cover, much of which has been attributed to the conservation activities inside and outside the recorded forest areas followed by Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. At 4,975 sq km, India’s mangrove coverage has shown an increase of 54 sq km as compared to the previous assessment. Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq km), followed by Maharashtra (16 sq km) and Odisha (8 sq km).
“The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms has seen an increase of 88 million tonnes as compared to the 2017 assessment,” Javadekar said, attributing the change to its classification as “grass”.
he classification of bamboo as a tree meant it couldn’t be cultivated in non-forest areas or ferried across state borders and required permits from village councils.
The assessment shows a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 765 sq km (0.45 per cent) in Northeast. Except Assam and Tripura, all states in the region show decrease in forest cover, which the minister said could also be attributed to Jhum form of cultivation.
Top 5 states
showing increase in forest area
- Karnataka 1,025 sq km
- Andhra Pradesh 990 sq km
- Kerala 823 sq km
- Jammu & Kashmir 371 sq km
- Himachal Pradesh 334 sq km
- 80.73 million hectares total forest and tree cover
This news has not been edited by Apni Kheti staff but has been published by various news feeds
Source: Tribune India