INDIA HAS increased its forest cover by an area roughly twice the size of Delhi in the past two years, suggests the India State of Forest Report 2021, released on January 13, 2022, by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). As a result the country’s forest and tree cover has risen to 809,537 sq km or 24.62 per cent of total land area. While releasing the report, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav claimed that his government has not only increased the forest cover but qualitatively enriched it. A closer look at the report’s findings, though, suggests that there is not much to celebrate.
First, this marginal increase still falls far short of what is needed to meet national and global targets. According to the National Forest Policy, 1988, the country must have 33 per cent of its geographical area under forest and tree cover. The same has been listed as an indicator under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life on land) as well as the “Strategy for New India@75” released by government think tank NITI Aayog in December 2018, with 2030 as the deadline. In fact, an analysis of forest and tree cover trends from 1987, when the first FSI report was released, to 2021 shows that in 34 years, the cover as share of its geographical area has risen by just 5 percentage points.
Progress in 2011-21 has been awfully slow at just 0.81 percentage points (see 'Marginal rise'). As per the 2021 report, only 17 states and Union Territories have forests covering more than 33 per cent of their geographical area, of which five have over 75 per cent.
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2022-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
