Climate change, global warming, deforestation, and other challenges are currently affecting the entire world. India has taken various initiatives to maintain the environment and forestation. According to the newly issued India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021, the nation's overall forest and tree area is 80.9 million hectares, or 24.62 % of its geographic region.
In comparison to the previous report, ISFR 2021 observed that forest area has increased by 1,540 square kilometres and tree cover has increased by 721 square kilometres. Mizoram with 84.53 %, Arunachal Pradesh with 79.33 %, Meghalaya (76 percent), Manipur (74.34 percent), and Nagaland (73.9 percent) are the top five achieving states in regards of forested land as a proportion of total area.
Madhya Pradesh has India's largest natural vegetation, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra in terms of area. According to the research, 17 states/UTs have forest areas covering more than 33% of their land area. Lakshadweep, Mizoram, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya are the only states with more than 75% forestland.
With 1,020 square kilometres of forest cover lost, the Northeast saw the greatest overall decline. Despite the fact that the area has 23.75 percent total forest cover, states like as Mizoram (1.03 percent), Arunachal Pradesh (0.39 percent), Manipur (1.48 percent), Meghalaya (0.43 percent), and Nagaland have decreased forest area (1.88 percent). Because the Northeast is a natural resources hotspot, the reduction brought on by natural disasters, changing agriculture, and deforestation has an impact on the area's water supplies, as well as a higher likelihood of landslides, according to the report.
The released report findings were tweeted by MyGovIndia official account with the caption that reads, “Walking the green talk! As per the Forest Survey Report 2021, the forest and tree cover has increased by 2,261 Sq Km in the last 2 years. #TransformingIndia”
According to the study, by 2030, climate change and rising temperatures will have a negative impact on Indian forests, and forests in all states except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland will be environmental prime locations. Ladakh will be badly impacted as well. The expansion in forest cover was linked to "improved conservation measures, protection, afforestation efforts, tree plantation drives, and agroforestry," according to the ISFR 2021 study.
