India’s green cover has advanced far too slowly

News–India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 has reported very slow progress of afforestation over the past two years. India must aim for faster progress to adapt and mitigate the effects of worsening climate change.  

What are the details about the latest India state of forest report? 

Read here. 

Why slow progress is a cause of concern? 

India set a target of 33% forest cover under the Indian Forest Policy of 1988. 

Now, India has set an emission neutrality target for itself in CoP-26 summit held in Glasgow.  

Although very dense forests (with a canopy cover of 70% or more) have reported an uptick. But they make up less than a seventh of the 713,789-sq-km of India’s deemed forest. 

The ‘moderately dense’ forests, which have a higher share, are on decline. 

This becomes much more important in the light of the fact that forests themselves are vulnerable to the effects of a warming planet.  

Example- Ecologists have warned that the Himalayas’ leaf cover has already begun to display signs of stress at various altitude belts. 

What is the way forward? 

Government should prevent any changes in Forest Conservation Act of 1980 that may ease the diversion of forest land for other uses. 

The strategy of emission limit on the use of fossil fuels also has limitations and must be supported by a sound afforestation plan. 

Example-Globally, forests are said to absorb a net 7.6 billion tonnes of CO2 every year. 

If India has to achieve its target of having carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes by 2030 it needs to have a fast pace of forest expansion. 

Source– This post is based on the article “India’s green cover has advanced far too slowly” published in Live Mint on 16th Jan 2022.