Forest Cover in the Country

The forest cover change from 1997 to 2007 as reported in India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2009, is based on the satellite imageries of the years 1994 and 2006 respectively. During this period, there is a net increase of 3.13 million hectare (mha) from 65.96 m ha to 69.09 m ha. Taking 1994 figure as base, there is an increase of 4.75% in the forest cover.

An article has appeared in a journal wherein an annual decline of 1.5% to 2.7% in native forests of India has been reported. The article has estimated that tree plantation have expanded at the rate of 15400 km2 per year and after subtracting plantations from total forest cover, the native forests have declined by 1.5% to 2.7% per year.

The forest cover assessment published by the Forest Survey of India takes into consideration all lands more than one ha. in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10% irrespective of ownership and legal status. This includes also all plantations undertaken within and outside the government forest. Hence, Forest Survey of India report of 2009 is reliable and is not misleading regarding increase in forest cover of the country as reported erroneously in the article.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan in a written reply to a question by Shrimati Kusum Rai in Rajya Sabha.