New Delhi: December 21: Odisha is among the top four states in India, exhibiting the most significant increase in forest and tree cover, according to the ‘India State of Forest Report 2023 (ISFR 2023)’ released today by the Minister for Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav. The data indicates that Chhattisgarh has had a surge of 684 square kilometres, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 559 square kilometres, Odisha with 559 square kilometres, and Rajasthan with 394 square kilometres. The top three states exhibiting the greatest growth in forest cover are Mizoram (242 sq km), followed by Gujarat (180 sq km) and Odisha (152 sq km). The three states with the largest forest and tree cover by area are Madhya Pradesh (85,724 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (67,083 sq km), and Maharashtra (65,383 sq km). The three states with the largest forest cover by area are Madhya Pradesh (77,073 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (65,882 sq km), and Chhattisgarh (55,812 sq km). Lakshadweep possesses the largest forest cover as a percentage of total geographical area at 91.33 percent, followed by Mizoram at 85.34 percent and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands at 81.62 percent. Compared to the 2021 assessment, the country has experienced a gain of 1,445 sq km in forest and tree cover, comprising a 156 sq km rise in forest cover and a 1,289 sq km rise in tree cover. The current evaluation indicates that 19 states and union territories have above 33 percent of their geographical area designated as forest cover. Among these, eight states/UTs—Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Manipur—exhibit forest cover over 75 percent. The country’s total mangrove coverage is 4,992 square kilometers.
Estimates place the total growing stock of India’s forests and trees outside them at 6430 million cum, with 4479 million cum located inside the forests and 1951 million cum outside the forest area. The overall growing stock has increased by 262 million cubic meters compared to the last assessment, comprising an increase of 91 million cubic meters within the forest and 171 million cubic meters outside the forest region.
The estimated area for bamboo cultivation in the country is 154,670 square kilometers. The bamboo’s coverage has increased by 5,227 square kilometers compared to the previous evaluation in 2021.
The estimated total annual potential timber production from trees outside forests is 91.51 million cubic meters.
The current evaluation estimates the total carbon store in the country’s forests to be 7,285.5 million tonnes. The carbon stock of the country has increased by 81.5 million tonnes compared to the last estimate.
Concerning the progress towards the target set under the NDC for carbon sequestration, the latest evaluation reveals that India’s carbon stock has attained 30.43 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This signifies that, relative to the base year of 2005, India has achieved an additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes, compared to the target of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes by 2030.
The nation’s forest and tree cover spans 827,357 square kilometres, constituting 25.17 percent of its geographical area, with 715,343 square kilometres (21.76%) classified as forest cover and 112,014 square kilometres (3.41%) as tree cover.
