N.K. Chauhan .jpeg)
Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) released the India State of Forest Report 2021 prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI).
It is an assessment of India's forest and tree cover, published every two years by the FSI.
The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17th.
The ISFR-2021 provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India's forests, forest fire monitoring, forest cover in tiger reserve areas, above ground estimates of biomass using SAR data & climate change hotspots in Indian forests.
It has for the first time assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors and the Gir forest which houses the Asiatic lion.
Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.
Total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectare which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country.
As compared to the assessment of 2019, there is an increase of 2,261 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country.
17 states/UT's have above 33 percent of the geographical area under forest cover.
Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
Top three states showing increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km) followed by Telangana (632 sq km) and Odisha (537 sq km).
In terms of forest cover as percentage of area, the top state is Mizoram (84.53%).
| Uttar Pradesh | |
|---|---|
| # | |
| Forest + Tree Cover | 22,238 km2 (9.23%) |
| Forest (total) | 14,817 km2 (6.15%) |
| Forest (increase) | 12.24 km2 (0.08%) |
| Forest (max) | Sonbhadra |
| Forest (max in %) | Sonbhadra |
| Forest (least) | Bhadohi |
| Forest (least in %) | Bhadohi |
| Forest (increase) | Sharanpur |
| Forest (decrease) | Sonbhadra |
| Very dense forest (max) | Lakhimpur Kheri |
