State of The Forest Report, 2017

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017. Key facts of the report are:

• Total forest and tree cover in India has increased of over 8,021 sq.km which is one percent increase from 2015
• The total forest cover is 7, 08,273 sq.km which is 21.54% of the geographical area of the country.
• India is ranked 10th in the world, with 24.4% of land area under forest (21.54%) and tree cover
• The mangrove cover in the country is 0.15% of the total geographical area of the country. There has been an increase of 181 sq km as compared to earlier estimates
• In terms of area, Top 5: Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Maharashtra.
• In terms of percentage of the total geographical area, Top states: Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura
• Top five states with increase in forest cover – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha and Telangana
• Top 5 states with decrease in forest cover – Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Meghalaya

India State of Forest Report (ISFR) released biennial basis by Forest Survey of India since 1987. Forest Survey of India (FSI) is an organisation under the Ministry of Environment & Forests; Government of India Its principal mandate is to conduct survey and assessment of forest resources in the country.