RANCHI, Dec 22: Jharkhand has seen a modest increase of 44.64 sq km in its forest cover between 2021 and 2023, representing just a 0.05 per cent growth of its total 79,716 sq km area, according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, released by the Centre.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, launched the report at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun on Saturday.
The report highlights a nationwide increase of 1,445 sq km in total forest and tree cover since 2021.
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In Jharkhand, the forest cover grew from 23,721.14 sq km in 2021 to 23,765.78 sq km in 2023, now covering 29.81 per cent of the state’s total geographical area.
When compared to neighbouring states, Jharkhand’s growth is modest. West Bengal showed only a 0.46 sq km increase, while Chhattisgarh (95.15 sq km), Odisha (277.61 sq km), and Bihar (151.66 sq km) saw better progress.
However, the report indicates some positive developments in Jharkhand, with very dense forest (VDF) areas increasing by 34.3 sq km. On the other hand, moderately dense forest (MDF) areas have decreased by 47.92 sq km. Open forest areas saw a rise of 58.26 sq km since 2021.
The total forest cover in Jharkhand now stands at 23,765.78 sq km, which includes 2,635.35 sq km of very dense forest, 9,640.99 sq km of moderately dense forest, and 11,489.44 sq km of open forest, the report said.
Nationally, the country’s forest and tree cover has reached 827,357 sq km, which is 25.17 per cent of the total geographical area. This includes 715,343 sq km (21.76 per cent) of forest cover and 112,014 sq km (3.41 per cent) of tree cover, it said. (PTI)
