The Forest Survey of India’s recent biennial report said that the country’s forest coverage has increased by 1,540 square km in the last two years with Andhra Pradesh showing maximum growth of forest cover at 647 sq km, followed by Telangana with growth of 632 sq km and Odisha 537 sq km. It is encouraging to see a 0.22% increase in forest cover over the previous assessment made in 2019 but a closer look tells that the growth rate has dipped from 0.85% in 2013 and 0.94 % in 2017. At 0.76% increase, the country’s tree cover growth rate is also lower than the figures of previous surveys. The scenario isn’t as good as it looks on the cover. Another worrying trend is the consistent decline in moderately dense forests while open forest area has been increasing, indicating that India continues to lose its natural forests. This trend needs to be arrested as we can’t afford to lose natural forests. The pace of growth in forest cover has to be accelerated significantly if New Delhi is serious about meeting its target of 33% forest cover by 2030 under the Indian Forest Policy of 1988, in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With the nation’s forest and tree cover still below 25%, it will be too late to achieve the set goal if we are satisfied with the worryingly slow pace of progress made in the past decade.
Another cause of worry is the consistent loss of forest area in the Northeast, home to one-fourth of India’s green cover, over the past several years. The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 also presented a gloomy picture of the forest in the region, showing a decrease of 1,020 sq km of green cover in the last two years with Arunachal Pradesh losing 257 sq km of forest, Manipur 249 sq km, Nagaland 235 sq km, Mizoram 186 sq km, Meghalaya 73 sq km, Assam 15 sq km, Tripura 4 sq km, and Sikkim 1 sq km. The region still accounts for 23.75% of the country’s total forest cover as all the states have more than 33% green coverage with five states above 70%. However, the pace at which the forests have been vanishing in this ecologically fragile region is a matter concern. Global warming is already beginning to affect the people, as temperatures rise and rain patterns change. Further loss of forests will prove costly for the ecosystem and thousands of endangered species of flora and fauna in the region. However, it is also necessary to look into the local socio-economic situations of the people before taking up any major steps to arrest the issue. The loss of forest in the Northeast has been attributed to the practice of shifting cultivation, but then this has been the source of livelihood for the people since time immemorial. So, to effectively discourage the jhum cultivation, sustainable farming practices and other alternatives should be introduced besides sensitising the need for conserving forests. The government also should address the issue of losing thousands of trees to development projects every year across the country.