Examine the status of forest resources of India and its resultant impact on climate change.

Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) survey released in 2019 accounts almost 24.5% of area held by forests.

The Government of India has a target of 33% to be reached within the next few years. Key forest resources include Timber, leaves, medicinal plants, food plants and honey etc.

Status of forest resources and impact on climate change:

1. Pan India degradation of Forests: with respect to quality and acreage. E.g., north east India showed a decline in first cover.

2. Large scale deforestation due to commercial activity, mining, clearing for agriculture and development projects.

3. Marginal increase in Mangrove cover by 88 sq. km. but Sundarbans has seen a decline in mangrove acreage due to shrimp farming and clearing for agriculture.

4. India intends to create a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes by 2030 but at present, degradation of forests is doing otherwise.

5. A report by TERI points at a 1% loss in GDP due to forest degradation.

6. There has been an increased instance of flooding, water scarcity and man animal conflict pointing to worsening condition of forests.

7. Forests in India support over 250 million people with lives and livelihood.

Steps taken for afforestation:

1. CAMPA funds to fund National afforestation program.

2. Partnership with Global Institutions on REDD and REDD+

3. India’s commitments under INDCs and increased mix of renewables in energy basket.

4. Bonn Challenge: Global effort to bring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land into restoration by 2020 and 350 million by 2030.

Forests provide a host of services development, regulatory and provisional. Being the 4th most vulnerable country to environmental disasters, Forest Conservation stands as a survival necessity and needs multi-faceted and multi stakeholder action.