2/22/25, 11:28 AM India State of Forest Report 2023

Table of contents

1. Key Findings of India State of Forest Report 2023

1.1. Top States with Largest Forest and Tree Cover
1.2. Top States with Largest Forest Cover
1.3. Top States with Largest Tree Cover
1.4. Top States with Increase and Decrease in Forest and Tree Cover
1.5. Mangrove Cover
1.6. Performance of States
1.7. Disappearance of Dense Forests
1.8. Total bamboo bearing area
1.9. India’s carbon stock
2. Major Terms/Definitions in ISFR

Context (IE): The 18th biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR-2023) was released by the
Environment Minister.
The India State of Forest Report is released biennially (every two years) by the Forest Survey of India
(FSI) and involves forest cover mapping of the country using satellite data.

Forest Survey of India is an organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change (MoEFCC). It was established in 1981 and headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Key Findings of India State of Forest Report 2023

Particulars ISFR 2023 ISFR 2021

Total Forest and Tree cover 25.17% (8,27,357 sq km) 24.62%

Net Forest Cover 21.76% (7,15,343 sq km) 21.71%

Net Tree Cover 3.41% (1,12,014 sq km) 2.91%

The total mangrove cover 4,992 sq km 4999 sq km

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Top States with Largest Forest and Tree Cover

Area-wise Percentage-wise

Madhya Pradesh (85,724 km2) Lakshadweep (92 percent)

Arunachal Pradesh (67,083 km2) Mizoram (88.03 percent)

Maharashtra (65,383 km2) Andaman & Nicobar Island (81.95 percent)

Top States with Largest Forest Cover

Area-wise Percentage-wise

Madhya Pradesh (77,073 km2) Lakshadweep (91.33 percent)

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Arunachal Pradesh (65,882 km2) Mizoram (85.34 percent)

Chhattisgarh (55,830.88 km2) Andaman & Nicobar Island (81.62 percent)

Top States with Largest Tree Cover

Area-wise Percentage-wise

Maharashtra (14,524.88 km2) Chandigarh (18.58 %)

Rajasthan (10,841.12 km2) Delhi (11.87 %)

Uttar Pradesh (8,950.92 km2) Kerala (7.48 %)

Top States with Increase and Decrease in Forest and Tree Cover

Maximum rise in forest and tree cover Maximum decrease in forest and tree cover

Chhattisgarh (683.62 sq km) Madhya Pradesh (612.41 sq km)

Uttar Pradesh (559.19 sq km) Karnataka (459.36 sq km)

Odisha (558.57 sq km) Ladakh (159.26 sq km)

Rajasthan (394.46 sq km) Nagaland (125.22 sq km)

Mangrove Cover

The total Mangrove cover is 4,991.68 km2, which accounts for 0.15 % of the country’s total
geographical area. This is a decrease of 7.43 sq km compared to 2021. It is present in 12 States/UTs (9
States and 3 UTs).
Except for Gujarat and A&N islands, Mangrove cover has increased in other States/UTs.
Mangrove cover by area:
1. West Bengal
2. Gujarat
3. A&N Islands
4. Andhra Pradesh
5. Maharashtra
6. Odisha
7. Tamil Nadu
8. Goa
9. Karnataka
10. Kerala

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11. Daman & Diu

12. Puducherry

Performance of States

19 states/UTs have more than 33 per cent of the geographical area under forest cover.
Eight states/UTs, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, A&N Island, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya,
Tripura, and Manipur, have forest cover above 75 per cent.
Total forest & tree cover in the Northeastern region is 67% of the geographical area of these states.
The northeastern states continued to record a declining trend in forest cover. Only Mizoram recorded
an increase of 178 sq km.
An assessment of forest cover across the Western Ghats was done for the first time. It showed that
the area earmarked as eco-sensitive by the Centre lost 58.22 sq km of forest cover since 2013.

Disappearance of Dense Forests

Since 2021: 3,913 sq km

Since 2003 (Two decades): 24,651 sq km (more than 6.3% — of its dense forests).

Total bamboo bearing area

Estimated to be 1,54,670 km2 (increase of 5,227 compared to 2021).

Maximum bamboo bearing area: Madhya Pradesh > Arunachal Pradesh > Maharashtra > Odisha.

India’s carbon stock

India’s carbon stock has reached 30.43 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent; which indicates that as
compared to the base year of 2005, India has already reached 2.29 billion tonnes of additional
carbon sink as against the target of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes by 2030.

Major Terms/Definitions in ISFR

Recorded Forest Area: Area recorded as forest in Government records.

Forest Cover: Includes land with a tree canopy density exceeding 10% irrespective of ownership
and legal status; and includes orchards, bamboo, and palm and covering at least one hectare in
area. It also includes plantations.
Tree Cover: Includes all patches of trees occurring outside the Recorded Forest Area which are of
size less than 1 hectare, irrespective of canopy density.
Dense Forest: Areas with a canopy density of 40% and above.
Very Dense Forests (VDF): Lands with forest cover having a canopy density of 70% and above.
Open forests (OF): Lands with forest cover having a canopy density between 10-40%.
Trees Outside Forest (TOF): All trees growing outside recorded forest areas irrespective of patch
size.

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