Lok Sabha Question No. 5101 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-04
Subject: Steps to Increase Forest Cover
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Sudheer Gupta, Prataprao  Jadhav, Prataprao  Jadhav, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Sambhajirao Mane Dhairyasheel, Shrirang Appa Barne

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 5101

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.04.2022

## Steps to Increase Forest Cover

## 5101.  SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

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

- (a) whether the Government has recently released the India's State of Forest Report(ISFR), 2021 and if so, the details thereof and the findings of the said report;
- (b) whether as per the report the forest cover in the Northeast is decreasing and natural forests are degrading and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to prevent the same and increase forest cover in the Northeast as well as other parts of the country;
- (d) the  total  area  currently  under  forest  cover  in  the  country  along  with  its  percentage share out of the total geographical area; and
- (e) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  make  compensatory afforestation plantations more bio-diverse?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND

CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) India State of Forest Report-2021 (ISFR-2021) prepared by Forest Survey of India, an  organisation under the Ministry, was released on 13 th January, 2022. The Salient findings of the ISFR -2021 are as follow:-
- (i) Forest and Tree Cover of country is increasing.
-  The  total  forest  and  tree  cover  of  the  country  as  per  2021  assessment  is 8,09,537 square kilometre which is 24.62 % of the geographical area of the country.
-  The  current  assessment  shows  an  increase  of  1,540  square  kilometre  of forest cover, 721 square kilometre of tree cover and 2,261 square kilometre of Forest and tree cover put together, at the national level as compared to the previous assessment i.e.  ISFR 2019.
-  The Very Dense Forest has increased by 501 square kilometre as compared to last assessment.
-  The top five States in terms of increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647  square  kilometre),  Telangana  (632  square  kilometre),  Odisha  (537 square  kilometre),  Karnataka  (155  square  kilometre)  and  Jharkhand  (110 square  kilometre).  The  positive  change  are  increase  in  vegetation,  which can be attributed to conservation measures, afforestation activities, enhance protection  measures  in  plantation  as  well  as  in  traditional  forest  areas, expansion of trees outside forest.
-  Major loss in Forest Cover is observed in Arunachal Pradesh (257 square kilometre), Manipur (249 square kilometre), Nagaland (235 square kilometre),  Mizoram  (186  square  kilometre)  and  Meghalaya  (73  square kilometre). The negative change correspondent to decrease in forest cover due to harvesting of short rotational plantations, shifting cultivation, biotic pressure, clearance in encroached area and developmental activities.
- (ii) Mangrove cover of the country has shown a positive change.
-  Mangrove  eco-systems  are  rich  in  biodiversity  and  provide  a  number  of ecological services. They also play a major role in protecting coastal areas from erosion, tidal storms and tsunamis.
-  The current assessment shows that mangrove cover in the country is 4,992 square kilometre, which is 0.15 % of the country's total geographical area.
-  There has been a net increase of 17 square kilometre in the mangrove cover of  the  country  as  compared  to  2019  assessment.  The  States  showing significant  gain  in  mangrove  cover  are  Odisha  (8  square  kilometre)  and Maharashtra (4 sq km).
- (iii) Growing stock has gone up both inside and outside forest.
-  The growing stock estimates of Forest and Trees Outside Forest have been generated at the National and State level. The total growing stock of wood in  the  country  is  estimated  at  6,167.50  million  cum  which  comprising 4,388.15 million cum inside forest areas and 1,779.35 million cum outside recorded forest areas. The average growing stock per hectare in forest has been  estimated  as  56.60  cubic  metre.  There  is  a  total  increase  of  251.74 million  cum  in  the  growing  stock  of  the  country  as  compared  to  the estimates reported in ISFR 2019.
- (iv) Carbon stock in forest is increasing.
-  The carbon stock for 2021 has been estimated 7,204.0 million tonnes. There is  an  increase  of  79.4  million  tonnes  of  carbon  stock  as  compared  to  the estimates of last  assessment  of  2019.  The annual  increase  is  39.7  million tonnes, which is 145.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
- (v) Bamboo stock is increasing.
-  The  total  bamboo  bearing  area  of  the  country  is  estimated  as  1,49,443 square  kilometre.  The  total  estimated  green  weight  of  bamboo  culms  at national level is 402 million tonnes. As compared to the estimate of ISFR2019, an increase of about 124 million tonnes equivalent green weight of bamboo has been observed in the present assessment.
- (b) As per ISFR-2021, there is an overall decrease of 1,020 square kilometre of forest cover in  the  North  Eastern  States  namely  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Assam,  Manipur,  Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura as compared to the previous assessment in 2019. The loss in forest cover in the North Eastern States may be attributed mainly to natural calamities, anthropogenic pressure, developmental activities and shifting cultivation practices.
- (c) Various  schemes  are  being  implemented  by  the  Central  and  State  Government/Union Territory  Administration  for  increase  in  forest  and  tree  cover  in  the  country.  These includes the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Green India Mission (GIM) being implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. National Afforestation Programme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for regeneration of degraded forest and adjoining areas in the country. Now NAP scheme has been merged  with Green India Mission.  National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight Missions outlined  under  the  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change.  It  aims  at    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 activities are also taken up under various programmes/funding sources such as Compensatory Afforestation Funds under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), afforestation activities under Mahatma Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGA),  National  Agroforestry  Policy  and  Sub-mission  on  Agro-forestry  (SMAF),  National  Bamboo  Mission and National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.

In  addition  to  above,  State  and  UT  Governments  have  their  own  afforestation  and reforestation programmes. Almost every State has activities under social forestry, which largely focuses on tree planting in the areas outside forests.  The State Governments in the North  Eastern  region  also  take  up  awareness  programme  to  educate  people  against shifting cultivation.

- (d) As per ISFR-2021, the forest cover of the country is 7,13,789 square kilometre which is 21.71% of the geographical area of the country.
- (e) As per provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Forest Conservation Rules and Guidelines, as far as practicable,  a  mixture  of local  indigenous  species  are planted  and monoculture  of  the  species  is  avoided.    The  States  are  also  taking  plantation  of  local species in the areas identified for compensatory afforestation for ensuring the biodiversity in these areas.

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