India lost 668400 ha of forest cover in the last 30 years

Subject: Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context: India clocked in the second highest rate of deforestation among countries worldwide between 1990 and 2020.

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The study highlighted the trend of deforestation of 98 countries with data collated from 1990 to 2000 and from 2015 to 2020 by Our World In Data, an online data repository.
India’s deforestation rose from 384,000 hectares between 1990 and 2000 to 668,400 hectares between 2015 and 2020
India ranked the second highest for the rate of deforestation after losing 668,400 hectares of forest cover in the last 30 years, a report by UK-based Utility Bidder said.
Brazil and Indonesia clocked in at first and third respectively with Brazil recording 1,695,700 hectares and Indonesia recording 650,000 hectares of deforestation.
India also topped the chart for biggest increase in deforestation between 1990 and 2020 with a difference of 284,400 hectares in forestry loss.
In India, the study blamed pressures due to expanding human settlements: “As the country with the second largest population in the world, India has had to compensate for the increase in residents – this has come at a cost in the way of deforestation.”

Forest Cover in India as ISFR 2021:

The total tree-and-forest cover in the country includes an increase of 1,540 square kilometres of forest cover and 721 sq km of tree cover compared to the 2019 report.
India’s total forest and tree cover is now spread across 80.9 million hectares, which is 62 per cent of the geographical area of the country.
Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
There is an increase of 17 sq km in mangrove cover in the country as compared to the previous assessment of 2019.
Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.
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.