MoEFCC, FSI refute data claiming loss of 2.33 million hectares of forest cover in India since 2000

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and Forest Survey of India (FSI) have refuted the data of the Global Forest Watch monitoring project, which said the country lost 2.33 million hectares of tree cover since 2000.

The MoEFCC and FSI filed a joint reply before the National Green Tribunal, which had sought a response from the authorities earlier.

The green body had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report regarding the alleged loss of forest cover.

The reply filed on November 16 said that the Forest Survey of India (FSI) conducted a wall-to-wall forest cover mapping data using remote sensing data and 17 cycles of forest cover assessment had been completed between 1987 and 2021.

It said, "FSI also undertakes sampling based National Forest Inventory (NFI) to assess information on tree cover, growing stock in forests and trees outside forests (TOF), bamboo resource, carbon stock along with several other parameters and the findings of above exercise are published in India State of Forest Report (ISFR) in a cycle of two years."

According to the reply, the IFSR definition of forest cover included all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy of more than 10 per cent irrespective of ownership and legal status, while tree cover was defined as tree patches of size less than one hectare occurring outside the recorded forest area.

It said, "The country's forest cover reported in the IFSR is based on internationally accepted criteria and the parameter adopted by the Global Forest Watch for forest cover is not based on the internationally accepted criteria and the Global Forest Watch is an initiative of an independent non-profit organisation which might have different methodology and definition for forest cover assessment."

The reply signed by FSI's Assistant Director S V Nagaraja said that as per the IFSR reports, from 2001 to 2021, there was a net increase of 59,891 sq km in forest cover and 14,277 sq km in tree cover.

It noted that according to the Global Forest Watch, an average of 51 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year was released into the atmosphere as a result of tree cover loss in India.

Refuting the claims, the report said, "However, it is humbly submitted that there is no decrease in forest and tree cover, and the question of emission of carbon dioxide from the forest in India does not arise."

It said the IFSR assessment of carbon stock in forests of the country in 2013 was around 6,941 million tonnes and in 2012 it stood at around 7,204 million tonnes.

"There is a net sequestration of 263 million tonnes of carbon in the forests of India between 2013 to 2021. Hence, India's forests represent a net sink of carbon dioxide not as a source of net emission of carbon dioxide.

"In view of the submission made in the above para, the Global Forest Watch (data) is devoid of the facts and ground reality and internationally accepted norms," the reply said.