Pune : The State of Forest Report (SOFR) 2023 states that the Western Ghats have lost 58.22 square kilometres (sq km) of forest cover in the last 10 years.
“Very dense forest increased by 3,465.12 sq km, whereas moderately dense forest and open forest decreased by 1,043.23 sq km and 2,480.11 sq km,” stated the report released by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) released on Saturday, December 21.
The India State of Forest Report has been brought out by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) on a biennial basis since 1987. FSI carries out an in-depth assessment of the forest and tree resources of the country based on the interpretation of remote sensing satellite data and field-based National Forest Inventory (NFI), and the results are published in the ISFR.
The India State of Forest Report 2023 is the 18th such report in the series. It contains information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India’s forests, instances of forest fire, agroforestry, etc.
As per the present assessment, the total forest and tree cover is 827,357 sq km, which is 25.17 per cent of the geographical area of the country. The forest cover has an area of about 715,343 sq km (21.76%) whereas the tree cover has an area of 112,014 sq km (3.41%). The report highlighted that compared to 2021, there is an increase of 1,445 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country and Maharashtra (65,383 sq km) is among the top three states having the largest forest and tree cover.
In the report, the forest cover is defined as “all lands, more than one hectare with a tree canopy density of more than or equal to 10% irrespective of ownership, legal status and land use”.
The reports provided a detailed information about the forest cover in Western Ghats Eco-Sensitive Area (WGESA), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Western Ghats, a significant biodiversity hotspot in India, runs into six states — Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu and 45 districts.
WGESA occupies an area of approximately 60,285.61 sq km based on the digital boundary provided, against a notified area of 56,825 sq km.
Earlier reports have highlighted that the forest cover is changing in Western Ghats due to the land alteration and various development projects. The current report highlighted that while the very dense forest is seeing an increasing trend, the open and moderately dense forest is decreasing in the region.
