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The country's forest cover rose 3,700 sq km between 2013 and 2015, creating a 'carbon sink' of 103 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, says the Forest Survey of India.
The India State of Forest Report-2015, issued on Friday by Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar, estimates 21.34 per cent of the total geographical area is covered by forest, a little more than 700,000 sq km. The 13th in a series, it was based on data from the indigenous Resourcesat–II satellite.
Additionally, the area with tree cover has been estimated at 92,000 sq km or 2.82 per cent of the total geographical area. The figure has gone up by 1,306 sq km.
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However, the increase in forest cover is significantly less than the earlier survey, when it had risen 5,000 sq km.
Javadekar said the increase in carbon stock (a carbon sink is anything absorbing more CO2 than it releases) was an assurance to international negotiators at the ongoing COP21 climate conference in Paris that India remained committed to widen its carbon sink.
He added, “We will achieve more than our INDC target." The government's recently presented Intended Nationally Determined Contribution figures have targeted the creation of an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in forests.
The country currently has 7,044 million tonnes of carbon stock. The government said the addition would be through aggressive afforestation, use of alternative sources of fuels, effective protection mechanisms and sustainable forest management.
The net increase in forest cover is attributable to the upward size of very dense forests, of 2,404 sq km, and of open forest area, up 4,744 sq km. However, moderately dense forest has decreased by 3,371 sq km as compared to the 2013 estimate. The increase is uneven, with Tamil Nadu gaining the hishest at an additional 2,501 sq km, followed by Kerala (1,317 sq km) and Jammu & Kashmir (450 sq km).
Tribal and hill districts, where forests have significant socio economic importance, registered a rise of 2,118 sq km.
Madhya Pradesh remains the state with largest forest cover, 77,462 sq km. Followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 67,248 sq km and Chhattisgarh having 55,586 sq km.
The report says nine patches of area, a little more than 10,000 sq km each, account for almost 39 per cent of total forest area.
Mizoram has the highest forest cover (88.9 per cent), followed by Lakshadweep with 84.6 per cent. Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur have more than 75 per cent of area under forest.
