India State Of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 – An Overview To Highlights

India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is a biennial publication of Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India. It is a widely used primary information source across the Central Government, State Governments and forestry professionals of the State Forest Departments, academia, international organizations and other stakeholders. These inputs about the forest resources of the country are used for broad evaluation and formulation of forest related policies, programmes,
legislations and other related activities.

The foremost instruction of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is to conduct survey and assessment of forest
resources in the country. It started as an organization called Pre-Investment Survey of Forest Resources (PISFR) in 1965 as Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/ Government of India Project. The changing information needs resulted in enlarging the scope of activities of PISFR and it was re-organized as Forest Survey of India in 1981.

The Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Shri Bhupender Yadav, released the ‘India State of Forest Report 2021’ on January 13,2022 prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI).

India State of Forest Report (ISFR)

It is published every two years, with the first survey being published in 1987. ISFR 2021 is the 17^th edition published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI).  ISFR presents the latest status of the Forest cover and tree cover of the country. The report provides information about India’s requirements to international organizations like Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and various conventions and commitments like UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), etc. It compiles the information computed through wall-to-wall mapping of India’s forest area through remote sensing techniques.

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India State Of Forest Report 2021

Initially, ISFR 2021 assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors, and the Gir forests, home of Asiatic lion.

• The forest cover in tiger corridors has increased by 15 sq km (0.32%) between 2011 and 2021 but decreased by 22.6 sq km (0.04%) in tiger reserves.
• In the last 10 years, forest cover has increased in 20 tiger reserves and decreased in 32.

Forest cover increased in:

• Buxa (West Bengal)
• Annamalai (Tamil Nadu)
• Indravati reserves (Chhattisgarh)

The greatest losses have been found in:

• Kawal (Telangana)
• Bhadra (Karnataka)
• Sunderban Reserve (West Bengal).

Pakke Tiger reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.

Key Features Of India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021

• In the present ISFR 2021, FSI has included a new chapter related to the assessment of forest cover in the Tiger Reserves, Corridors and Lion conservation area of India. In this context, the decadal assessment of change in forest cover within Tiger Reserves, Corridors and Lion conservation area helps in assessing the impact of conservation measures and management interventions that have been implemented over the years.
• A new initiative of FSI has also been documented in the form of a chapter, where the ‘Above Ground Biomass’ has been estimated. FSI, in collaboration with Space Application Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmedabad, initiated a special study for estimation of Above Ground Biomass (AGB) at pan-India level, using L- band of
  Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data.The results for the States of Assam and Odisha (as well as AGB maps), were presented earlier in ISFR 2019. The interim results for AGB estimates (and AGB maps) for the entire country have been presented as a new chapter in ISFR 2021.

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Highlights Of The ISFR 2021

[1] Increase in forest area

• ISFR 2021 has found that the forest and tree cover in the country continues to increase with an additional cover of 1,540 square kilometres for the past two years.
• India’s forest cover is now 7,13,789 square kilometres, 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019.
• Tree cover has increased by 721 sq km.
• Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.

[2] State-wise gain/losses

• The states that have shown the highest increase in forest cover are Telangana (3.07%), Andhra Pradesh (2.22%) and Odisha (1.04%).
• The Northeast states account for 7.98% of total geographical area but 23.75% of total forest cover.
• Five states in the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have all shown loss in forest cover.
• The report has attributed the decline in the NE states to a spate of natural calamities, particularly landslides and heavy rains, in the region as well as to anthropogenic activities.

[3] Increase in Mangrove area

• Mangroves have shown an increase of 17 sq km. India’s total mangrove cover is now 4,992 sq km.

[4] Increase in carbon stock

• The total carbon stock in country’s forests is estimated at 7,204 million tonnes, an increase of 79.4 million tonnes since 2019.

[5] Big cats population

• ISFR 2021 has some new features. It has for the first time assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors and the Gir forest which houses the Asiatic lion.
• The forest cover in tiger corridors has increased by 37.15 sq km (0.32%) between 2011-2021, but decreased by 22.6 sq km (0.04%) in tiger reserves.
• Buxa, Anamalai and Indravati reserves have shown an increase in forest cover while the highest losses have been found in Kawal, Bhadra and the Sunderbans reserves.
• Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.

 [6] Impact of climate change

• The report estimates that by 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures, and forests in all states will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots.
• Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.
• India’s forests are already showing shifting trends of vegetation types, such as Sikkim which has shown a shift in its vegetation pattern for 124 endemic species.

[7] Forest fires

• The survey has found that 35.46 % of the forest cover is prone to forest fires.
• Out of this, 2.81 % is extremely prone, 7.85% is very highly prone and 11.51 % is highly prone
• The highest numbers of fires were detected in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

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Key Finding Of The ISFR 2021

INCREASE IN FOREST AND TREE AREA:

• The forest and tree cover in the country continues to increase. An additional cover of 1,540 square kilometers increased over the past two years.
• India’s forest cover is now7,13,789 square kilometers (21.71% of the country’s geographical area) which is an increase from 67% in 2019.
• Tree cover is defined as all tree patches of size less than one hectare occurring outside the recorded forest area. This covers trees in all formations including scattered trees. Tree cover has increased by 721 sq km.

INCREASE/DECREASE IN FORESTS:

• The states that have shown the highest increase in forest cover are Telangana (3.07%), Andhra Pradesh (2.22%), and Odisha (1.04%).
• Five states in the Northeast have shown a loss in forest cover: Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland

STATES WITH HIGHEST FOREST AREA:

• Area-wise: Madhya Pradeshhas the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra.
• Forest area as a percentage of total geographical area: Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Nagaland.

MANGROVES:

• Mangroves have increased by 17 sq km making India’s total mangrove cover as 4,992 sq km.
• Top 3 states showing mangrove cover increase: Odisha (8 sq km), Maharashtra (4 sq km), and Karnataka (3 sq km).

FOREST PRONE TO FIRES:

• 46% of the forest cover is prone to forest fires.
• 81% are extremely prone, 7.85% are very highly prone and 11.51% are highly prone.
• By 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures.
• Forests in all states (except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland) will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots.
• Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.

TOTAL CARBON STOCK:

• Forest carbon stock is the amount of carbon that has been sequestered from the atmosphere and stored within the forest ecosystem. Such carbon is mainly stored within living biomass and soil and to some extent in deadwood and litter.
• The total carbon stock in the country’s forests is estimated at 7,204 million tonnes, showing an increase of 79.4 million tonnes since 2019.

BAMBOO FORESTS:

• Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.
• The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms at national level is 402 million tonnes.
• The present assessment observed an increase of about 124 million tonnes equivalent
  green weight of bamboo as compared to the previous assessment.

Issues With The Survey

As per experts, survey results could be confusing as it includes plantations – such as coffee, coconuts or mango and other orchards – under forest cover. These plantations are distinctly different from natural forests where one hectare would be home to hundreds of species of trees, plants and fauna, whereas commercial plantations house only one species of tree.

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