India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021
On 13th January, 2021 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) released the India State of Forest Report-2021. The report assesses the forest and tree cover, and is published every two years by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17.
Key Findings of the Report
- The Total Forest Cover (TFC) increased 1,540 km² between 2019 and 2021. It was 713,789 km² in 2021.
- The TFC in 2021 is 21.71% of the Total Geographical Area (TGA) of the country
- It was 21.67% of the TGA in 2019
- Tree cover has increased by 721 km²
- Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover.
- States showing highest increase
- Andhra Pradesh 647 km²; Telangana 632 km² & Odisha 537 km²
| Table: Forest Covers Of India (in sq km) | ||
| Class | Area | Percentage Of Geographical Area |
| Very Dense Forest | 99,799 | 3.09 |
| Moderately Dense Forest | 3,06,890 | 9.33 |
| Open Forest | 3,07,120 | 9.34 |
| Total Forest Cover | 7,13,789 | 21.71 |
| Scrub | 46,539 | 1.42 |
| Non-Forest | 25,27,141 | 76.87 |
| Total Geographical Area | 32,87,469 | 100.000 |
- Highest Forest Cover (States): MP > Arunachal Pradesh Chattisgarh > Odisha > Maharashtra
- Forest Cover as percentage of TGA: Mizoram> Arunachal Pradesh > Meghalaya > Manipur > Nagaland
- Increase in Mangrove Cover: Increase of 17 km². Total mangrove cover is now 4,992 km²