India ranks third globally in forest area gain: Survey

Topic: Environment

Context:

India has increased its forest area in the past decade and ranks third globally in average
India annually added an average 2,66,000 hectares of forest area over the period.
Forests covered 24% of India’s geographical area, accounting for 2% of the world’s total forest area in 2020, the department said.
The top 10 countries account for 66% of the world’s forest area. Brazil (59%), Peru (57%), Democratic Republic of Congo (56%) and Russia (50%) have half or more of their geographical area under forests.
“Much of India’s increase in forest cover from 2011-21 is attributed to enhancement in very dense forest cover, which rose by approximately 20%,” the DEA said.
Social forestry could also play a significant role in this regard,” said the report.

Social forestry:

Social forestry is the management and development of forests with afforestation on barren lands to achieve environmental benefit and rural development.
The term was first used by National Commission on Agriculture, Government of India, in 1976.
It was then that India embarked upon a social forestry project with the aim of taking the pressure off the forests and making use of all unused and fallow land.