India among world’s few countries to record rise in forest cover

Blitz Bureau

NEW DELHI: India is ranked among the top 10 countries where the forest cover has increased over the years, according to an SBI Research report released on May 15. While India’s forest cover remained constant from 1991-2011, it increased after that.

“The relationship between urbanisation and forest cover is U shaped…early-stage urbanisation leads to deforestation, but as urbanisation progresses, there is an increase in policies such as urban greening, forest conservation programmes, and sustainable land-use planning, which results in an eventual recovery of forest cover,” according to the SBI report.

India is urbanising rapidly. According to Census 2011, India’s urban population was 31.1 per cent of the total population, which is expected to increase to 35-37 per cent in census 2024.

Beyond 40 per cent urbanisation rate, the effect on forest cover becomes positive… Thus, more and more programmes like Smart Cities Mission and Atal Mission For Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) are essential to integrate green infrastructure and enhance urban ecological resilience, it added.

According to the current assessment, the total forest cover in the India’s mega cities is 511.81 km2, which is 10.26 per cent of the total geographical area of the cities. Delhi has the largest forest cover followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru.

The maximum gain in forest cover (2023 over 2021) is seen in Ahmedabad, followed by Bengaluru, while the maximum loss in forest cover is seen in Chennai and Hyderabad. The forestry sector contributes around 1.3-1.6 per cent to India’s GVA, supporting industries like furniture, construction, and paper manufacturing.

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