Forest cover inadequate

Holistic conservation effort needed

The latest edition of the State of Forest Report for 2017 shows that India has recorded a marginal increase in its forest cover — between 2015 and 2017, it posted a rise of 0.21 per cent in the area that is forested. A closer look, however, throws up a number of uncomfortable questions and discoveries. Less than 25 per cent of India’s total geographical area is covered by forests — this is significant because ensuring that at least 33 per cent of the nation’s land mass is forested has been the apparent goal of successive governments since 1988. Interestingly, about half of the dense forest area that India lost since 2003 — more than 1,000 square kilometres every year — was compensated with plantations, which have been identified in the survey as “forest”. Given that plantations are artificially created, it must be asked whether their inclusion in a report involving natural forest growth is justified.

The report states that very dense forest has increased. But this is tempered by the revelation that about 24,000 square kilometres of dense and very dense forested areas also degenerated into non-forest areas on account of deforestation and the usage of forest land for development projects. Indeed, the challenge is to achieve a balance among agriculture, industry and the fragile environment. The approach to conserving forest must be more holistic.