What are the major challenges faced by India’s forest and vegetation cover?

Although the island’s location and proximity to the Malacca Strait make it important for both economic and strategic purposes, it holds immense ecological and social value as well. It is a nesting site for the giant leatherback turtle, megapodes, and home to thousands of coral reefs. The island is seismically very active, as it falls in the highest-risk zone (Zone VI). 

Therefore, such projects often reignite the debate about how to strike a balance between development imperatives and ecological responsibilities. Notably, the government has proposed that compensatory afforestation for the Great Nicobar project will be carried out in Haryana’s Aravali districts. 

However, experts pointed out that dry and deciduous forests of the Aravalis may not compensate fully for the ecological value presented by the dense evergreen tropical rainforests of the island. In addition to such development projects, there are other challenges faced by India’s forest and vegetation cover, such as forest fires, invasive species, monoculture plantations, and large-scale diversion of forest land for various non-forest purposes. 

These challenges have raised serious concerns about ecological stability and warrant a closer examination of their implications. 

Forest fires

Forest fires are a recurring challenge. At present, about 54.40 per cent of India’s forest areas are exposed to occasional forest fires. According to the Forest Survey of India (FSI), a total of 2,03,544 forest fire incidents occurred during November 2023-June 2024, and 2,38,309 incidents were recorded during November 2024-June 2025. 

Traditionally, late spring and early summer seasons have been more susceptible to forest fires.  But in recent years, even winter months are also witnessing forest fires with increased frequency and intensity across Himalayan states, like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh (Lohit Valley), and Nagaland (Dzukou Valley). 

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), key drivers of forest fires include: 

The accumulation of pine needles in the western Himalayas.

The collection of Mohua leaf (tendu patta) in central-western India. 

The cultivation of shifting cultivation (jhum cultivation) in the northeast.

These factors are further exacerbated by rising average temperatures, erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and lightning, amplifying the disaster. Forest fires cause multifaceted damage, including biodiversity loss and soil erosion. They also have adverse socio-economic and cultural impacts.

Invasive alien species and monoculture

Invasive alien species further compound forest degradation. India is considered second only to the US in terms of bearing economic and ecological costs caused by invasive species. Invasive alien species are one of the five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss globally. They are introduced into a landscape accidentally (human travel, trade and the expansion of the global economy) or as a solution to a problem (like revegetating arid land). 

However, not all alien species establish and spread with negative impacts on biodiversity, local ecosystems and species, but a significant proportion do – then becoming known as invasive alien species. At present, there are some 37,000 established alien species introduced by human activities worldwide. Of these, around 3,500 alien species (10 per cent) have been found to have negative consequences for nature and people. India also reportedly has over 100 invasive alien species.

Colonial-era Lantana camara, one of the most invasive species in India, has invaded India’s tiger reserves, and is estimated to cover more than 40 per cent of the area. Prosopis juliflora (vilayati kikar), which came from Mexico and was introduced to boost green cover, has caused much ecological damage in Delhi-ridge region and other parts of the country. 

In addition, monoculture plantations are yet another concern. Plantations of tree species, such as pine, eucalyptus, and teak, are highly prone to fire, store relatively less carbon, and, when they burn, release the stored carbon rapidly back into the atmosphere. In contrast, native broadleaf varieties, like oak, rhododendron, and other mixed Himalayan hardwoods grow slowly, retain more moisture, and therefore are less flammable. They also accumulate more carbon and support biodiversity, thereby enhancing the overall ecological balance of the forest. 

At the same time, these ecological vulnerabilities are further compounded by the scale and nature of some infrastructure projects. 

Issues with infrastructure development projects 

In the last five years (2020-2025), more than 99,000 hectares of forest land have been diverted for non-forestry purposes, such as infrastructure development, mining, hydroelectric and irrigation projects. Some examples include:

The Great Nicobar Island Project.

The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.

The Kanwar Corridor Project.

 The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, and the Chandigarh Green Corridor.  

The 26.3 km Versova-Bhayandar DP road, with an estimated cost of ₹22,000-crore, aims to reduce travel time from nearly two hours to less than 20 minutes. However, the project is said to affect 45,675 of the 60,000 existing mangrove trees in 102 hectares of forest land. 

To compensate for this, over 130,000 mangroves are proposed to be planted and maintained for at least 10 years in Palghar district, around Boisar, Dahanu and Vasai. Additionally, a statutory plantation of 103 hectares has been proposed in Chandrapur district.

These compensatory efforts can be better understood in the context of the evolution of forest governance framework in India.  

Evolution of forest-related legislation

During colonial rule, the Forest Act of 1865 was the first legislation asserting state monopoly over forest resources, primarily for timber supply. This was followed by the Forest Act, 1878, which introduced more comprehensive and classified forests into three categories: reserved forests, protected forests, and village forests. The Act also prohibited activities like trespassing or pasturing of cattle, curtailing the customary rights of the local population. 

The Indian Forest Act, 1927, deleted the reference to rights of communities over forests made in the 1878 Act, and codified the powers of forest officials. The Act also had some provisions about shifting cultivation, which was considered the biggest reason for forest depletion. Subsequently, the Government of India Act, 1935, transferred forest-related issues from the Union List to the State List. 

Forest policy statements of 1894 and 1952 emphasised state monopoly over forest resources for national development. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, empowered the government to designate any specific area as “protected area” like national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, or tiger reserves, often restricting the access of local people. The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) recommended the regularisation of the rights of forest dwellers over forest produce, further reducing their access.

Limitations of this approach acknowledged

However, over time, the limitations of this approach were acknowledged. As a result, the National Forest Policy, 1988, marked a shift and addressed the important relationship between tribal communities and forests. It assured the protection of their customary rights and concessions, and emphasised joint forest management, along with afforestation, social forestry, and farm forestry. The policy also envisages bringing 33 per cent of India’s geographical area and two-thirds in hilly and mountainous regions under forest or tree cover. 

The Forest Rights Act, 2006, recognised forest-dwellers as “integral to the very survival and sustainability of the ecosystem”. The Act not just recognised the rights of forest-dwelling communities but also sought to increase their participation in the conservation and management of forests and wildlife. The draft of an updated National Forest Policy was released in 2018, but it has yet to be finalised. 

In 2023, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980 was amended to limit the conservation scope of the act to only certain forest lands. It exempts border areas from seeking permission to clear forests, and provides necessary provisions to protect biodiversity and expand forest cover to meet India’s Nationally Determined Contribution targets. These targets seek to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030. 

In addition, initiatives like the Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme, Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), and Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam are some other recent initiatives complementing the legislative framework and seeking to enhance forest cover.  

How to address present challenges 

To sum up, forest fires have the potential to erase decades of carbon sequestration gains, causing irreversible environmental damage. Addressing these challenges requires advanced early-warning and rapid-response systems for forest fire prediction and mitigation, and high-resolution satellite imagery for continuous ecological monitoring. This is important for carbon stability, ecological resilience and national climate commitments. 

At the same time, afforestation efforts with a variety of native species utilising traditional knowledge and involving local communities for protection and management can enhance diversity and deliver several economic and ecosystem benefits. There is a need to balance between development imperatives and ecological responsibilities. 

Post read questions

Forest fires in India are no longer seasonal events but symptoms of deeper ecological and governance failures. Discuss the causes and consequences of increasing forest fires in India.

Monoculture plantations undermine forest resilience in the context of climate change. Explain this with reference to fire vulnerability, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity.

How do invasive alien species pose a greater threat to India’s forest ecosystems? Illustrate.

Discuss the impact of infrastructure-led forest diversion on India’s ecological security. What are the limitations of compensatory afforestation as a mitigation strategy?

Trace the evolution of forest governance in India from the colonial period to the present day. Assess how far recent legal and policy reforms have addressed historical injustices and ecological challenges.

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

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