Published on: January 27, 2023

State’s Forest Cover

State’s Forest Cover


Why in news?   neurontin 300 mg uses India is lagging behind in the targets to increase the number and quality of tree and forest-cover plantations set in the Green India Mission, according to data accessed through the Right to Information (RTI) Act.


Highlights

  • The States with a significant shortfall in tree cover include Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala.

India State of Forest Report-2021

  • India’s total forest and tree cover accounted for 24.62% of the geographical area of the country
  • The report said 17 States and Union Territories had more than 33% of their area under forest cover
  • Madhya Pradesh had the largest forest cover, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
  • The top five States in terms of forest cover as a percentage of their total geographical area were Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland.
  • However, it is said that increase in green cover was almost entirely via commercial plantations, could not compensate for natural forests and their biodiversity and, being monocultures.

Government of India Intiative

  • National Mission for a Green India (GIM) is one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
  • It aims at protecting, restoring and enhancing India’s forest cover and responding to climate change
  • The target under the Mission is 10 million hectares (mha) of forest and non-forest lands for increasing the forest and tree cover and improving the quality of existing forests.
  • Improving tree cover is critical to sequester carbon and bolster India’s carbon stocks as part of its international commitments to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.