India's forest cover rises: report

With the latest report showing an increase in the country's total forest area, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today emphasised the need for enhancing green cover and called for a mass movement for afforestation.
According to the latest India State of Forest Report 2013 which is released once in two years, there has been an increase of 5871 sq km in forest cover as compared to the assessment done in 2011.
"As per the present assessment, the total forest and tree cover of the country is 78.92 million hectare, which is 24.01 percent of the geographical area of the country.
"As compared to the assessment of 2011, there is an increase of 5871 sq km in the forest cover and 422 Sq Km in tree cover in the country," the report brought out by Forest Survey of India said.

It said the major part of the increase in forest cover has been observed in open forest category mainly outside forest areas.
The report also said the maximum increase in forest cover has been observed in West Bengal (3810 sq km) followed by Odisha (1444 sq kms) and Kerala (622 sq Kms) while Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of 77,522 sq km. In terms of area.

"Unless we make afforestation a mass movement, we cannot grow forest. If you involve people, then forest will increase. We will make it a mass movement and will take people along so that it becomes a real success story," Javadekar said after releasing the report.

The minister said it was critical for each stakeholder to participate in making environmental sustainability a reality to ensure the agenda for growth and added the report captured the ground realities pertaining to environment.
However, the report said also said that in the moderately Dence Forest section, the net change in forest cover between 2011 and 2013 assessments shows a decline 0.62 percent.
The report also said that there has been a net decline of 627 sq kms in forest cover in north eastern states as compared to last assessment while the mangrove cover in India too has decreased by 34 Sq Kms.