India's forest, tree cover at 25.17% due to large scale plantation works: Govt to UN
The forest and tree cover of India is now 25.17% of its geographical area because of key national initiatives, the latest India State of Forest Report told the United Nations Forum on Forests at the UN headquarters in New York from May 5-9.
'India reported a consistent increase in forest and tree cover, now encompassing 25.17% of its geographical area as per the latest India State of Forest Report as a result of key national initiatives like the restoration of land under the Aravalli Green Wall, a 7.86% increase in mangrove cover over the past decade, afforestation of over 1.55 lakh hectares under the Green India Mission, and plantation of 1.4 billion seedlings under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (Plant4Mother) campaign,' the environment ministry said on Friday.
India also joined a high-level panel on 'Valuing Forest Ecosystems in National Policy and Strategy' at the UN, where it shared findings from pilot studies in Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, and tiger reserves.
These studies quantified ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water provisioning, and biodiversity conservation using frameworks such as the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA). While acknowledging challenges in valuing non-market services, India emphasised the need to integrate ecosystem valuation into national planning for informed forest governance and long-term ecological sustainability.
India's forest and tree cover encompasses 8,27,357 sqkm — 25.17% of the country's geographical area — as of 2023, according to the India State of Forest Report released by the Union environment ministry in December last year. Of this, around 21.76% is forest cover whereas tree cover is around 3.41%.
The last such report, which is supposed to be released biennially, came out in 2021.
Compared to 2021, there is an increase of 1445 sqkm — an area as large as Delhi — in the total forest and tree cover of the country, the report said.
HT reported on December 24 that the country's green cover may be increasing according to the headline findings of the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, but the study also addressed the degradation of large tracts of forestland, increase in plantations and lack of clarity in status of so-called unclassed forests — all of which could have serious impacts on biodiversity, people dependent on forests and ecosystem services provided by old-growth forests, experts said.
According to the report released on Saturday, 40,709.28 sqkm of land has degraded between 2011 and 2021, from very dense and moderately dense to open forests.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
'This ain't aid, it's death': Gaza food distribution plagued by violence and shortage; UN calls situation 'already apocalyptic'
A Palestinian carries a bag of food he collected at a distribution centre run by private contractor the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the southern Gaza Strip, as he arrives at his tent in Khan Younis (Image credit: AP) Palestinians in Gaza are risking their lives daily to get food as aid remains scarce and violence surges. Israeli troops have opened fire near aid routes and looters wait outside distribution points to rob those carrying supplies, residents say. 'I don't see how it can get any worse, because it is already apocalyptic. But somehow it does get worse,' said Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian affairs office. Most food aid is distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates inside Israeli military zones. The UN says the aid is not enough to prevent starvation. Palestinians describe scenes of chaos, with crowds crawling under gunfire and people being shot or struggling for basic items like lentils and flour. 'I have nothing to feed my children,' said Jamil Atili, who returned empty-handed and injured from a food centre after he was unable to get anything for his children. 'This isn't aid. It's humiliation. It's death", he added. Israel began allowing food into Gaza this month after cutting it off completely for 10 weeks. United Nations officials noted that it is not enough to prevent starvation. Most of the supplies go to GHF, which operates four food distribution points inside Israeli military zones. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Some aid goes to the UN and humanitarian groups camps. Hundreds have been killed or wounded while trying to reach aid in recent weeks, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. On Tuesday alone, more than 50 people were reportedly killed. Witnesses say Israeli tanks, snipers and drones open fire to prevent crowds from moving past a certain point before the centres open. Palestinian witnesses described that food boxes were stacked on the ground inside aid centres, secured by fences. Thousands rush inside to grab what they can, as reported by the Associated Press. When supplies run out, desperate looters often target those leaving with food. Describing the chaos, Mohammed Saqer said stampede-like situations frequently occur as people scramble for aid. This leaves many injured with no one to help as everyone is focused on getting food. Many return with little or nothing. Omar al-Hobi said he returned empty-handed twice, managed to grab a pack of lentils once and on the fourth day, was determined to get flour for his three children and pregnant wife. 'No one will show you mercy these days. Everybody fends for themselves,' he said.
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- The Hindu
Thousands participate in International Yoga Day celebrations in Kittur Karnataka
Thousands of people from different age groups took part in the International Yoga Day celebrations across various districts of Kittur Karnataka by performing various asanas on Saturday. District administrations along with AYUSH departments, various organisations, educational institutions had organised programmes at stadiums, open spaces, halls, and atop big buildings as part of the day. Programmes were held even in prisons and on the Hubballi airport premises. Participating in the programme at UNESCO heritage site Pattadakal in Bagalkot district, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi termed yogasanas a good exercise for spiritual, physical, and mental health. 'It not only strengthens our body, mind and inner strength but also has the objective of establishing harmony across the universe,' he said, adding that yoga was contributing a great deal in making the 21st century the 'century of Bharat'. At the programme at the district stadium in Dharwad, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Divya Prabhu G.R.J. termed yoga the biggest contribution of India to the world. 'If man's body and nation is peaceful, then the whole universe will be peaceful. The meaning of the word yoga is uniting our body and mind. Yoga means uniting everyone,' she said. At the programme held in association with Isha Foundation at sub jail in Hubballi, along with inmates of the prison, Shahabuddin Kalekhan Superintendent of Prisons, and the jail staff performed yogasanas. Elaborating on the significance of the day, Mr. Shahabuddin briefed about various reformative programmes being held for the inmates regularly. At the Hubballi airport, director Rupesh Kumar and other staff members took part in the celebrations. In the programme held in coordination with 'Kshamatha Samsthe' and 'Dhanyosmi Yoga Kendra' in Hubbali, hundreds of people took part. Convener Govind Joshi, MLA Mahesh Tenginakai elaborated on the significance of Yoga Day. In districts In Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Haveri, Gadag, and Uttara Kannada, district-level programmes were held.
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue
Catholics call for environmental action at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue (Picture credit: AP) RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian Catholic worshippers laid down an eco-friendly carpet in front of the world-famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and called for the protection of the environment ahead of UN climate talks in the Amazon. Tapestries are a fixture of the Corpus Christi religious feast when Catholics celebrate what they believe is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This year, the colourful carpet was made from approximately 460 kilos (1,014 pounds) of recycled plastic caps . Over the past few years the Christ the Redeemer sanctuary has increasingly used the attention the iconic statue generates to spotlight environmental concerns. "These caps could be polluting the environment. Today they're here as a carpet," said Marcos Martins, environmental manager and educator at the sanctuary. "It's the circular economy: we take the material, we're reusing it here and then we're going to reuse it again with an exhibition." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Just after daybreak and before the first flock of tourists arrived on Thursday, Cardinal Orani Joao Tempesta led celebrations at the site overlooking Guanabara Bay and Rio's famed Sugarloaf mountain. The caps are "a good reminder of our co-responsibility with ecology, of our concern for the environment, which are very characteristic of Christ the Redeemer," Rio's archbishop told journalists. Thursday's celebration also paid homage to the late Pope Francis and his Laudato Si', a landmark environmental encyclical in which he cast care for the environment in stark moral terms. In the papal letter, Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct what he said was a "structurally perverse" economic system in which the rich exploited the poor, turning Earth into a pile of "filth" in the process. "The COP30 is coming up and we've just had the U.N. Ocean Conference. Nothing makes more sense than Christ being a great spokesperson for this issue," said Carlos Lins, the sanctuary's marketing director. Earlier this month, the sanctuary held workshops, discussion groups and actions focusing on environmental preservation. The statue, perched on the Corcovado mountain, is itself located in the Tijuca National Park . Brazil has been hit by a series of environmental disasters in recent years, including severe droughts in the Amazon, wildfires in the Pantanal and flooding in the south. This week, heavy rains killed at least two people in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, just over a year after it was hit by the worst flooding on record. Scientists say extreme weather is happening more frequently due to human-caused climate change.
