India State of Forest Report th November, 2009

Report Highlights India among the few countries to have comprehensive operational system of forest cover monitoring Eleventh Report in the biennial series Change in title – bears the year of release now Assesses decadal change in forest cover assessed New Features ̶ Forest cover mapping based on a new enhanced methodology ̶ Forest cover in different altitude zones ̶ Distribution of forest cover by forest types ̶ State-wise growing stock with improved precision

Key Information in India SFR 2009 Forest Cover of India and its change compared to previous assessment down up to the district level forest cover in tribal districts forest cover in hill districts forest cover in north eastern States forest cover in different altitude zones forest cover in different forest types Mangrove Cover Tree Cover Growing Stock Accuracy of forest and tree cover assessment Forest & tree resources in States & UTs

Forest and Tree Cover of India in 2007 ClassArea (million ha) % of Geographic Area Forest Cover Very Dense Forests Moderately Dense Forests Open Forests Total Forest Cover Tree Cover* Total Forest & Tree Cover Scrub Other Non-forest Total Geographic Area * Tree cover is defined as tree patches less than 1 hectare with canopy density above 10% Key Results Forest and Tree Cover in 2007

Class2005 Assessment2007 AssessmentChange km 2 % % VDF 83, , (+0.05%) MDF 319, , (-0.29%) OF 286, , ,626 (+0.57%) Total 690, , (+0.11%) There is a net increase of 728 km 2 of forest cover in the country as compared to the previous assessment Key Results Change in Forest Cover between 2005 and 2007

Year of Assessment Change* Forest Cover (million ha) 65.96* million ha (4.75%) Satellite data period Satellite data (sensor) IRS 1B, LISS IIIRS P6, LISS III Resolution m23.5 m Scale of mapping 1:250,0001:50,000 Minimum mappable area 25 ha1 ha Mode of interpretation visualdigital area figures obtained by applying the correction factors to account for the methodological changes Key Results Decadal Change in Forest Cover

Forest Cover Map of India

Gain & Loss of Forest Cover in States and UTs ( )

StatesGain in Forest Cover w.r.t Assessment (km 2 ) Main Reasons Mizoram 640 regrowth in shifting cultivation areas Manipur328 regrowth in shifting cultivation areas Jharkhand172 plantations, effective protection by VFPCs Meghalaya116 Afforestation and regrowth in shifting cultivation areas Orissa100 effective protection by VFPCs, regrowth in shifting cultivation areas Kerala40 rubber plantations Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, West Bengal each 24 effective protection Gujarat16 Mangrove plantations Punjab4 plantations Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Puducherry 2 effective protection Key Results States Showing Gain in Forest Cover ( )

StatesLoss in Forest Cover w.r.t Assessment (km 2 ) Main Reasons Nagaland-201 shifting cultivation Andhra Pradesh-129 departmental felling of eucalyptus plantations by APFDC Arunachal Pradesh-119 shifting cultivation, biotic pressure Tripura-100 shifting cultivation Assam-66 encroachment, shifting cultivation Chhattisgarh-59 mining, encroachment Madhya Pradesh-39 submergence Maharashtra-11 felling by FDCM Haryana, Karnataka-10 mining, encroachment Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli-5 mining, encroachment Bihar, J&K-3 felling in TOF areas, biotic pressure A&N Islands after effects of tsunami Key Results States Showing Loss in Forest Cover ( )

Hill Districts There are 124 hill districts in the country 39.82% of their geographical area is under forest cover forest cover in hill districts has increased by 663 km 2 Tribal Districts There are 188 tribal districts in the country 37.32% of their geographical area is under forest cover forest cover in tribal districts has increased by 690 km 2 Key Results Forest Cover in Hill and Tribal Districts

The region, which has only 7.76% of the geographic area of the country, accounts for nearly one fourth of its forest cover Forest cover in the region is about 66.81% of the geographic area as against the national average of 21.02% As compared to the 2005 assessment, gain of 598 km 2 of forest cover has been observed in the region Key Results Forest Cover in North-Eastern States

Distribution of forest cover in different forest types is being presented for the first time Nearly one third of India ’ s forest cover falls in the Tropical Moist Deciduous type, followed by Tropical Dry Deciduous (30.16%) Tropical Wet Evergreen type group occupies 8.75% of the country ’ s forest cover Key Results Forest Cover in Different Forest Types

Forest cover in different altitude zones assessed for the first time Geographical area in the m altitude zone has got the maximum forest cover (72.19%) More than half of the forest cover of the country occurs in 0– 500m altitude zone Key Results Forest Cover in Different Altitude Zones

Total extent of mangrove cover, spread in12 States & UTs of the country is 4,639 km 2 West Bengal has nearly half of the mangrove cover of the country An increase of 58 km 2 of mangrove cover at the national level Key Results Mangrove Cover

Growing Stock 2007 (million cum) Forest4,499 TOF1,599 Total6,098 gives volume of woody biomass of trees above 10 cm diameter and includes branches up to 5 cm Growing Stock

ClassificationGround truth ForestNon-ForestTotal Forest Non-Forest Total Accuracy % (for each class) Overall Accuracy95.72 % Simplified error matrix (2 classes) Key Results Accuracy of Assessment of Forest Cover