Syllabus
GS Paper 3 – Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
Context
A recent article in the Nature Geoscience journal indicated that an increase in tree plantations led to a nearly 38% decrease in water availability in certain global river basins.
Key Definitions
- Forest Cover: Defined by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) as ‘all lands of a hectare or more with tree patches with canopy density of more than 10%’. It includes all lands, regardless of legal ownership or land use.
- Recorded Forest Area: This term refers to areas recorded as forests in government records, including pristine forests.
- Tree Cover: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) defines it as ‘tree patches outside recorded forest areas exclusive of forest cover and less than the minimum mappable area of 1 hectare’.
Forest Assessment
- The Forest Survey of India (FSI) has been assessing India’s forest cover since the early 1980s. However, it only began publishing its biennial State of Forest reports (ISFR) in 1987.
Classification
Forests are broadly classified into different classes based on internationally adopted norms.
| Forest Type | Description |
| Very Dense Forest | All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density of 70% and above |
| Moderately Dense Forest | All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 40% and 70% |
| Open Forest | All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 10% and 40% |
| Scrub | All forest lands with poor tree growth mainly of small or stunted trees having canopy density less than 10 percent |
| Non-Forest | Any area not included in the above classes |
According to the National Forest Policy of India, the ideal percentage of total geographical area under forest should be at least 33% to maintain ecological stability.
India State of Forest Report 2021 (ISFR)
- The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is a biennial publication by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India.
- The report provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India’s forests, forest fire monitoring, forest cover in tiger reserve areas, above ground estimates of biomass using SAR data & climate change hotspots in Indian forests.
Key Findings of ISFR 2021
- The total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country.
- Compared to the assessment of 2019, there is an increase of 2261 sq. km in the total forest and tree cover of the country.
- The states with the highest increase in the forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq. km), Telangana (632 sq. km), Odisha (537 sq. km), Karnataka (155 sq. km), and Jharkhand (110 sq. km).
- 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.
New Initiatives and Features of ISFR 2021
- In the 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.
- A new initiative of FSI has also been documented in the form of a chapter, where the ‘Above Ground Biomass’ has been estimated.
Tropical Dry Forest biome
- Geographical Spread: The Tropical Dry Forest biome covers over three-fifths of India.
- Geographical Features: This biome extends from the south of the Shivaliks in north India to the Aravali range in the northwest, and continues down to the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu.
- Tree Cover: The tree cover in this biome is generally sparse, with 10-40% canopy cover consisting mostly of open forest, scrub, and grasslands.
- Water Conditions: The biome receives less than 1,000 millimetres of annual rainfall and is prone to drought.
- Significance: A large rural population depends on these landscapes for cattle grazing. It is also an important habitat for endangered fauna like wolves, striped hyena, and blackbuck.
Need for revised forest cover targets
- Lack of Scientific Basis:
- The 33% forest cover target was first proposed in the National Forest Policy 1952 and it has not been revised since then.
- There is also no scientific basis for the 26 million hectares target under the 2011 Bonn Challenge that India has set to achieve by 2030.
- Methodological Issues:
- To detect a forest in a 30 by 30-pixel satellite image, sufficient tree cover is needed on the ground. This necessitates more trees to be planted in a dense manner, compared to the natural 10-40% canopy cover.
- Only fast-growing trees like teak, eucalyptus and vegetation like bamboo can grow quickly enough to be picked up in satellite images.
Initiatives by the Government to Enhance Forest Coverage
- Green India Mission (GIM): Launched in the Financial Year 2015-16, the GIM is focused on afforestation activities. Over the last five years, Rs. 755.28 Crores has been released to seventeen States and one Union Territory to support these efforts.
- National Afforestation Programme: This programme was implemented for the regeneration of degraded forests and adjoining areas. It has now been merged with the Green India Mission.
- Nagar Van Yojana (NVY): Launched in 2020, the NVY aims to create 600 Nagar Vans and 400 Nagar Vatika in urban and peri-urban areas by 2024-25. The initiative intends to enhance the green cover, preserve biological diversity, and improve the quality of life for urban dwellers.
- Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA): This fund is utilized by States/UTs for compensatory afforestation to offset forest land diversion for developmental projects. 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.
- Multi-Departmental Efforts: Apart from the central initiatives, afforestation activities are taken up under various programs and schemes of line Ministries, State Governments/UT Administrations, Non-Government Organizations, Civil Society, and Corporate bodies. Some notable efforts include participation in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, National Bamboo Mission, and Sub-Mission on Agroforestry.
- Draft National Forest Policy: The policy focuses on integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation measures into forest management practices. It emphasizes building resilience to climate change, particularly among forest-dependent communities.
- 15th Finance Commission’s Recognition: The 15th Finance Commission acknowledged that the forest canopy cover across India is diverse. Therefore, the weightage for the devolution of funds to the States should be in accordance with the different canopy density classes.
Way forward
- Land Restoration: It would be more beneficial to restore degraded land to its original state of grasslands or scrub vegetation with native trees, rather than creating monoculture plantations.
- Revision of Targets: There is a need to revise the target forest cover under the National Forest Policy.
- Conservation Promotion: Incentives should be provided for conserving grasslands and other open ecosystems with low tree cover, which are often misclassified as ‘wasteland’ but are of high importance.
- Expansion of Indicators: Restoration programmes and monitoring should not solely rely on satellite imagery, as tree cover is not the only good indicator of the health of an ecosystem.
- Adoption of Bottom-up Approach: A top-down policy approach could discourage the States from implementing ill-advised tree planting schemes that could be detrimental in the long term.
- Appropriate Tree Plantation: Ecological balance cannot be achieved by compensating for forest loss elsewhere through tree plantations in these dry forest regions.
Source: Down to Earth
Practice Question
Discuss the significance of forest cover in maintaining ecological balance in India. Critically examine the current targets for forest cover under the National Forest Policy and argue for or against the need for their revision. Substantiate your arguments with suitable examples. [250 words]