Why forests demand more effective monitoring

Since forests are considered to be publicly owned, this marks a shift in India’s forest management efforts. For perspective, India stands at the 9th position globally in total forest area (72,739 thousand hectares) and third position in net annual forest area gain, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) report 2025. 

The GFRA report, released every five years, also revealed that about 32 per cent of the total global land area (approx. 4.14 billion hectares) is forest-covered. The first five countries contribute to more than half (54 per cent) of the global forests, i.e. the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America, and China.  

Let’s understand how forests are defined in India, their types, distribution and significance. 

How forests are defined

Forest Survey of India (FSI) defines ‘Forest cover’ as all lands, more than or equal to one hectare in area, with a tree canopy of more than or equal to 10 per cent, irrespective of ownership and legal status. The FSI, which publishes the biennial India State of Forests Report (ISFR), primarily uses IRS-R2 (ResourceSat-2) LISS-III (Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor-III) satellite data for mapping. The satellite has a spatial resolution of 23.5 m and cannot capture very fine details. 

Thus, it also considers monocultures, plantations, orchards, bamboo, palm, etc., as forests, which may not have similar ecological value as the natural forests. However, there are frameworks that treat natural forests and plantations separately, such as: 

1. Brazil’s forest-carbon accounting.

2. The European Union’s Carbon Removal Certification Framework.

3. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (GPG-LULUCF).

Hence, a more nuanced definition and refined methodology can help in effective interventions to protect, restore, and conserve a ‘forest’.

How forests in India are categorised 

India’s vegetational diversity comes from its unique geographical location, which provides varied climatic conditions. Primary factors influencing vegetation include temperature, precipitation and its seasonal distribution and elevation/altitude of the terrain. 

The Tropic of Cancer divides the country into two broad climate zones: tropical climate in the south and sub-tropical climate in the north. Based on the climatic conditions and predominant vegetation type, forests in India are categorised into tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen, tropical deciduous forest, tropical thorn forest, littoral and swamp forests, and montane forests. Montane forests are located at higher altitude regions like the High Himalayan ranges and the higher hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Up to an elevation of 1000 metres, both tropical and subtropical regions experience similar climatic conditions: hot summers (35°C-45°C), and mild (10°C-15°C) and cool (5°C-10°C) winters, respectively. Thus, forests of these climates also exhibit more ‘resemblances’ and fewer ‘differences’. 

Temperature decreases with increasing altitude, which causes a corresponding change in vegetation, from tropical to tundra type as we go upward in the high Himalayan ranges. Deciduous forests in the foothills are succeeded by wet-temperate (1000-2000 metres), cool temperate (2000-3000 metres), sub-alpine (3000-4000 metres) and alpine vegetation (4000-5000 metres). 

In between, there are temperate grasslands and pastures, which have supported transhumance practice (the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between geographical or climatic regions) by tribes like Gujjars, Bakarwals, Bhotiyas, Gaddis and others. 

Moreover, the south-facing slopes of the Himalayas, which induce orographic rainfall, have thicker vegetation than the drier northern slopes. Based on the canopy density, forest cover is defined as:

1. Very Dense Forest (VDF, Canopy density ≥ 70 % ).

2. Moderately Dense Forest (MDF, 40 % ≤ Canopy density < 70 %).

3. Open Forest (OF, 10 % ≤ Canopy density < 40 %).

4. Scrub (Canopy density < 10 %), and non-forest.

Expansion of non-forest areas, cause for concern?

The huge diversity in India’s natural vegetation reflects a wide range of climatic and physiographic conditions. It spans temperate vegetation in the high-elevation areas of the Himalayas; tropical deciduous forests in northern and central India; tropical rainforests in the Western Ghats, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; mangroves in the delta regions of West Bengal and Gujarat; tropical thorn forests, grasses, and shrubs in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan.

According to ISFR 2023, 21.76 per cent of India’s geographical area has forest cover, registering an increase of 156.41 square kilometres from the 2021 estimates. Tree cover stands at 1,12,014 sq km (3.41 per cent). This includes areas within recorded forests, such as reserved forest, protected forest, unclassed or village forests, as well as areas outside recorded forests.

Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh (77,073 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (65,882 sq km) and Chhattisgarh (55,812 sq km) have the largest forest extent. In terms of percentage, Lakshadweep has the highest forest cover (91.33 per cent), followed by Mizoram (85.34 per cent), and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (81.62 per cent). 

However, a closer reading suggests that outside recorded forests, VDF (-63.88 sq km), MDF ( -416.47 sq km), and scrub areas (-1,912.46 sq km) have decreased. Even within the recorded forests, except for an increase in VDF (+2,431.50 sq km), all other forest categories have decreased significantly. Notably, the expansion of non-forest areas both within recorded forests (+1,197.48 sq km) and outside of the recorded forest (+1,763.33 sq km) is a major cause for concern.

Towards sustainable development

To sum up, a fast-growing economy like India needs to strike a balance between its developmental ambitions and its ecological health for long-term sustainable development. Forest cover and natural vegetation can help us mitigate several of our current environmental challenges, like global warming, heat waves, air and water pollution, floods, soil erosion and desertification, etc. Hence, it may be argued that there is a need for a more nuanced definition and refined methodology for more effective monitoring, protection, restoration, and conservation of forest resources. 

Post read questions

Discuss the ecological and socio-economic significance of forests in India. How does this make effective forest monitoring and governance imperative?

Not all tree cover is forest. examine this statement in the context of India’s forest definition and assessment methods.

The recent easing of guidelines under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 2023 marks a shift in India’s forest governance. Discuss its potential implications for conservation and sustainable development.

Explain how altitude and climate influence the distribution and types of forests in India. Illustrate with suitable examples from the Himalayan and peninsular regions.

India exhibits significant diversity in natural vegetation. Discuss the geographical and climatic factors responsible for this diversity.

(Abhinav Rai is a Doctoral candidate at the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.)

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