Lok Sabha Question No. 318 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-20
Subject: Depletion of Forest
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi, Deepak Baij

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO: 318*

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 20.12.2021

## Depletion of Forest

## * 318   SHRI GAURAV GOGOI: SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government has assessed forest depletion in the North Eastern region of the country and Odisha over the past decade;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government has conducted consultations with stakeholders from the North Eastern region and Odisha regarding the proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI. BHUPENDER YADAV)

- (a) to (d) The statement is laid on the table of the House.

***

Statement refer to in reply to part (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 318 due for reply on 20.12.2021 regarding 'Depletion of Forest' by Shri Gaurav Gogoi and Shri Deepak Baij.

- (a) & (b) Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, an organization under the Ministry carries out the assessment  of  forest  cover  of  the  country  biennially  since  1987  and  the  findings  are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The forest cover assessment is a wallto-wall  mapping  exercise  based  on  remote  sensing  supported  by  intensive  ground verification and field data from National Forest Inventory. As per latest ISFR 2019, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,07,276 square kilometres which is 24.56 % of the geographical area of the country. There is an increase of 13,209 square kilometre of forest and tree cover at the national level in the ISFR-2019 as compared to the ISFR2015.    There  has  been  decrease  in  forest  cover  in  the  States  of  Arunachal  Pradesh, Manipur,  Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Sikkim  and  Tripura  while  there  has  been increase in forest cover in the state of Odisha and Assam over a decade. Gain in forest cover or improvement in forest canopy density may be attributed to better conservation measures,  protection,  afforestation  activities,  tree  plantation  drives  and  agroforestry whereas,  loss  in  forest  cover  and  impairment  of  forest  canopy  may  be  attributed  to shifting cultivation, forest fires, felling of trees, natural  calamities,  anthropogenic pressure and developmental activities.

The State wise details of change in forest cover in the North Eastern region and Odisha in India between ISFR 2009 to ISFR 2019 is given below:-

| (area in km 2 )   | (area in km 2 )   | (area in km 2 )        | (area in km 2 )   | (area in km 2 )   | (area in km 2 )        |
|-------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------|-------------------|------------------------|
| Sl. No.           | State/UT          | Geographical Area (GA) | ISFR 2009         | ISFR 2019         | Change in forest cover |
| 1                 | Arunachal Pradesh | 83,743                 | 67,484            | 66,688            | -796                   |
| 2                 | Assam             | 78,438                 | 27,692            | 28,327            | 635                    |
| 3                 | Manipur           | 22,327                 | 17,280            | 16,847            | -433                   |
| 4                 | Meghalaya         | 22,429                 | 17,321            | 17,119            | -202                   |
| 5                 | Mizoram           | 21,081                 | 19,183            | 18,006            | -1177                  |
| 6                 | Nagaland          | 16,579                 | 13,464            | 12,486            | -978                   |
| 7                 | Sikkim            | 7,096                  | 3,359             | 3,342             | -17                    |
| 8                 | Tripura           | 10,486                 | 7,985             | 7,726             | -259                   |
| 9                 | Odisha            | 1,55,707               | 48,855            | 51,619            | 2764                   |
|                   | Total             | 4,17,886               | 22,2623           | 222,160           | -463                   |

The  States  have  primary  responsibility  for  protection  and  management  of  forest.  For 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 and tree plantation activities are undertaken by States and Union Territories Governments under  various  State  schemes.  The  Ministry  provides  financial  assistance  to  States  and Union Territories  Governments under various Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes including, inter  alia,  National  Afforestation  Programme,  Green  India  Mission  to  support  and supplement the efforts of States and Union Territories.

Afforestation  activities  are  also  taken  up  under  various  programmes/schemes  such  as Mahatma  Gandhi  National Rural Employment  Guarantee Scheme, Compensatory Afforestation Funds under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

These initiatives  also  help  in  conservation  of  very  dense  forests  and  moderately  dense forests  as  well  as  to  increase  forest  and  tree  cover.  The  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and Farmers  Welfare  is  also  implementing  the  National  Agroforestry  Policy  (NAP)  since 2014.  Further,  the  15 th Finance  Commission  has  assigned  10%  weight  to  forest  and ecology in its horizontal devolution criteria and weights.

- (c)  & (d)   The Ministry has received suggestions from various Ministries, State Governments and stakeholders  regarding  amendments  in  the  Forest  (Conservation)  Act,  1980.  In  this regard, a public Consultation paper containing the details on the proposed amendments was  circulated  for  inviting  comments/suggestions  from  various  stakeholders  including those in the Northeast region and Odisha in October, 2021. The Ministry has also written to the State Governments, Administrators/Lt. Governors of the Union Territories to send the comments of their respective Governments/ administrations on the consultation paper.

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