Statsguru: India's forest and tree cover at 25.17% of total land area

Forest fire detections saw a considerable drop from the 2020-21 cycle. Odisha and Madhya Pradesh witnessed the bulk of forest fire incidents

The 18th edition of the India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2023, was recently released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The report highlighted that India’s forest and tree cover constituted 25.17 per cent of the country’s total land, an increase from 20.64 per cent in 2003.

 

Further, an analysis of ISFR reports from 2003-23 reveals a consistent decline in the forest cover of the eight northeastern states from 1,73,297 sq km in 2003 to 1,68,569 sq. km in 2023. 

 

Forest cover in the hill districts remained roughly static with a significant rise in very