ITANAGAR, 22 Dec: Arunachal Pradesh has lost 549 square kilometres (sq kms) of forest cover between 2021 and 2023, with the total area under forest cover in the state now at 65,881.57 sq kms[78.67%], according to India State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2023.
Union Environment, Forest & Climate ChangeMinister Bhupendra Yadav launched the report at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun on Saturday.
The state’s total forest cover in 2021 was estimated at 66,431 sq kms (79.33%).
Arunachal is among five states which have shown significant losses of forest cover outside the recorded forest area (RFA).
Madhya Pradesh has lost the highest 344.77 sq kms, followed by Rajasthan (110.65 sq kms), Andhra Pradesh (55.19 sq kms), Arunachal (45.32 sq kms) and Maharashtra (41.07 sq kms).
Area-wise top three states having the largest forest and tree cover are Madhya Pradesh (85,724 sq kms), followed by Arunachal (67,083 sq kms) and Maharashtra (65,383 sq kms).
As per the report, 25.06 percent [20,985.32 sq kms] area of the state’s forest cover is under very dense forest, 35.36 percent (29,615.09 sq kms) under moderately dense forest and 18.25 percent (15,281.16 1 sq kms) under open forest.
According to the report, India’s total forest and tree cover rose by 1,445 sq kms since 2021, reaching 25.17 percent of the total geographical area in 2023, according to the latest government data.
The forest cover grew by just 156 sq kms while tree cover expanded by 1,289 sq kms. Most of the gain in forest cover (149 sq kms) occurred outside the RFA, which refers to areas designated as forests in government records.
According to the report, India experienced degradation of around 93,000 sq kms of forests between 2011 and 2021.
For ISFR-2023, the government included bamboo and trees with a diameter of 5-10 centimetres at breast height in the tree cover estimates. It expanded the assessment to 751 districts compared to 636 in 2021.
Together, the forest and tree cover now stands at 8,27,357 (8.27 lakh) sq kms or 25.17 percent of India’s geographical area.
The forest cover alone increased by a mere 156.47 square kilometres from 2021 to 2023, reaching 7,15,343 (7.15 lakh) sq kms (21.76 percent of geographical area).
The tree cover increased by 1,289 sq kms and now constitutes 3.41 percent of the country’s geographical area, the report said.
Tree cover is defined as patches of trees and isolated trees outside the RFA that are less than one hectare.
India’s total bamboo-bearing area is now estimated at 1,54,670 (1.54 lakh) square kilometres, an increase of 5,227 square kilometres from 2021.
Chhattisgarh recorded the highest increase in forest and tree cover, with a gain of 683.62 square kilometres, followed by Uttar Pradesh (559.19 square kilometres), Odisha (558.57 square kilometres) and Rajasthan (394.46 square kilometres).
The largest declines were observed in Madhya Pradesh (612.41 square kilometres), Karnataka (459.36 square kilometres), Ladakh (159.26 square kilometres) and Nagaland (125.22 square kilometres).
Within the RFA, Mizoram showed the largest increase in forest cover, adding 192.92 square kilometres, followed by Odisha (118.17 square kilometres), Karnataka (93.14 square kilometres), West Bengal (64.79 square kilometres) and Jharkhand (52.72 square kilometres).
The steepest declines in forest cover inside RFA were recorded in Tripura (116.90 square kilometres), Telangana (105.87 square kilometres), Assam (86.66 square kilometres), Andhra Pradesh (83.47 square kilometres) and Gujarat (61.22 square kilometres).
Outside RFA, Gujarat saw the highest increase in forest cover, with a gain of 241.29 square kilometres, followed by Bihar (106.85 square kilometres), Kerala (95.19 square kilometres), Uttar Pradesh (79.27 square kilometres), and Assam (74.90 square kilometres). (With inputs from PTI)
