Forest Cover of India
The Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, publishes the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) every two years. The latest edition at the time of writing is ISFR 2023 (released in December 2024).
Key figures (ISFR 2023, check the next edition)
| Item | Value (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Forest cover | About 7.15 lakh sq km, around 21.76 percent of the geographical area |
| Tree cover | About 1.12 lakh sq km, around 3.41 percent |
| Total forest and tree cover | About 8.27 lakh sq km, around 25.17 percent |
| Target (National Forest Policy 1988) | 33 percent of area (66 percent in hills) |
Canopy classes
| Class | Canopy density |
|---|---|
| Very Dense Forest (VDF) | 70 percent and above |
| Moderately Dense Forest (MDF) | 40-70 percent |
| Open Forest (OF) | 10-40 percent |
| Scrub | Below 10 percent (not counted as forest cover) |
State records (ISFR 2023, verify with the latest report)
- Largest forest cover by area: Madhya Pradesh, then Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra.
- Highest percentage of geographical area under forest: Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland (Lakshadweep is higher if UTs are included).
- Largest mangrove cover: West Bengal.
- Largest forest cover among UTs: Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Legal forest classes
- Reserved forest: most protected, no rights unless granted.
- Protected forest: some rights allowed.
- Unclassed forest: owned by government or private.
- Recorded Forest Area is different from forest cover: recorded area is a legal record, cover is what the satellite sees.
Policies and laws
- National Forest Policy 1988; Indian Forest Act 1927; Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 (amended 2023 and renamed Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980).
- Forest Rights Act 2006 recognises rights of forest dwellers.
- CAMPA: Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016.
- Green India Mission, part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
- Joint Forest Management.
- National Afforestation Programme; Van Mahotsav (first week of July); Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign (2024).
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.