Imagine an area 80% larger than Delhi, the nation’s capital. That is how much India’s forests grew over a decade, according to a leading United Nations body.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), whose remit is to lead international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security, in a 2024 report, lauded India for gaining 2,660 sq km of forest area between 2010 and 2020, ranking it third globally in increasing forests during this period.

The FAO’s report relies on data from the Forest Survey of India (FSI), run by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), the official ‘National Correspondent for India’. These data are not independently assessed by any other organisation.

In May 2024, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed at the United Nations Forum on Forests that India’s forests increased consistently over 15 years, from 2008 to 2023, basing this, too, on FSI reports.

According to the FSI’s 2021 India State of Forest Report, forests grew by 1,540 sq km, when compared to its 2019 report.

Yet, other reports say India’s deforestation levels are second only to Brazil’s.

Global Forest Watch, an online platform run by a global think tank, reported that between 2001-2023, India lost 23,300 sq km of tree cover, an area larger than the state of Meghalaya.

Between 2013 and 2023, 95% of deforestation occurred within natural forests. The National Green Tribunal (NGT), on 20 May 2024, noted this and asked the ministry of environment and forests for an explanation.

“1,73,396 hectares of forest area (1,733 sq km) has been lost due to development activities,” environment and forest minister Bhupendra Yadav told Parliament on 8 August 2024.

The loss appears to be particularly acute in the northeast, which contains 23.75% of the country’s forests, and some of its richest and most biodiverse. The FSI recorded a 1,020-sq-km forest loss across the eight northeastern states between its 2019 and 2021 reports.




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