India's forest cover growth slows to 8-year low in 2021: Survey

Northeast states see highest decline in forest cover

India’s forest cover growth has slowed to an eight-year low in 2021, with just 0.22 per cent increase over 2019, down from 0.85 per cent in 2013 and 0.94 per cent in 2017, the highest in the last decade.

The land under forest area has grown by just 1,540 sq km over 2019, according to the Forest Survey of India’s biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021.

Similarly, the growth in tree cover is 0.76 per cent in 2021 over 2019, the lowest rate since 2015. As of 2021, the total forest and tree cover comprises 24.62 per cent of the