An indicator about the health of India's forests is increasingly worrying

The value of timber and non-timber products falls across states, even as carbon stocks rise

The value of timber and non-timber forest products (NTFP) in Indian forests declined by 21.4 per cent from 2011-12 to 2021-22 at constant prices, according to a recent government report. It means a reduction in the value of forest provisioning services, which are material goods or products that people obtain directly from forest ecosystems.

 

“From year 2011-12 to 2021-22, the value of non-timber forest resources declined substantially by 49.36 per cent, decreasing from Rs 15,380 crore to Rs 7,790 crore. This significant drop reflects a contraction in the market valuation or the supply of these resources,” said the report called ‘Environmental Accounting on Forest 2025’.

 

The value of timber provisioning services increased 6.63 per cent to Rs 15,330 crore compared to Rs 16,350 crore, suggesting stable and sustainable use aligned with forest health benchmarks.

 

The value of timber and NTFP declined in 22 states, according to an analysis of the report published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Such decline indicates that forests are in poor health and the livelihoods of people dependent on forest products is under stress.

 

Rajasthan had the largest fall, of Rs 970 crore, in the value of timber and NTFP at constant prices from 2011-12 to 2021-22. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab recorded a decline of Rs 927 crore and Rs 764 crore. Nationwide, the value declined by Rs 6,570 crore.  

 

The carbon stock per hectare stored in forests — it indicates their capacity to mitigate climate change — rose 1.86 per cent from 2017 to reach 101.85 tonne in 2023. However, the ecological metric declined in 18 states and union territories. The largest drop was in Kerala (22.93 per cent), followed by Karnataka (17.79 per cent), Jharkhand (17.1 per cent) and Haryana (16.97 per cent).  

 

In terms of retaining and storing carbon as a service, forests in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have fared the worst. The service’s value in the two states’ forests declined by Rs 3,045 crore and Rs 2,332 crore, respectively, from 2015-16 to 2021-22. Nationwide, the service’s value increased by 2.87 per cent.