India’s forest cover increases by more than 5,000 sq kilometers: Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar

New Delhi 30/12/19 :  Union Environment Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar released a report on the state of forests in India on Monday. Releasing the report, he said, “There has been an increase in forest cover in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh in last 2 years. In the present assessment, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.73 million hectares which is 24.56 % of the geographical area of the country.”

The India State of Forest Report is a biennial exercise to estimate the forest cover, the density of forest vegetation, tree cover across States, and the progress of plantation outside regions officially designated ‘forest.’

The Report provides a comprehensive account of the Forest Cover Scenario of the Country to different user groups. They are of great importance for Policy Planners, Managers, Researchers, Academicians etc.The exercise involves both satellite mapping and surveys to map increase or decrease in forest cover.

Forests have acquired increasing importance in the recent past not only for their role in meeting the material requirements but also for their ecological and environmental functions.