Important for
Prelims: Geography and Environment
Mains: General Studies Paper I
How is it calculated ?
- Forest Survey of India in its biennial India State of Forest Report presents forest cover of the India.
- FSI is organisation under Ministry of Environment , Forest and climate change.
- India counts all plots of 1 hectare or above, with at least 10% tree canopy density , irrespective of land use or ownership, within forest cover
- United Nation’s benchmark does not include areas predominantly under agricultural and urban land use in forests.
Global Standard:-
At least 1 hectare of land with a minimum of 10% per cent tree canopy cover.
- It does not include areas “predominantly under agriculture or urban land use” in a forest.
Issues with it :-
- Loss of natural forests remains invisible due to inclusion of plantations, orchards, urban housings as dense forests.
- Plantations can grow a lot more and faster than old natural forests which means plantations can achieve additional carbon targets faster
- FSI never made its data freely available for public scrutiny.
Mains Practice Question
Why is it important to improve the forest cover in the country? Discuss various efforts of the government for improving it.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.