Releasing the biennial India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 that recorded an overall gain of 1,540 sq km of forests since 2019 on Wednesday, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav emphasised on “maintaining the quality of forest” as the government’s top priority. The report, however, testifies to the continuing loss of natural old-growth forests across the country.
While Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka and Jharkhand contributed the most to the national gain in forest cover, and the Northeast reported the biggest losses, the numbers in ISFR 2021 add up to a total destruction of 1,643 sq km of dense forests, which have become non-forests since 2019.
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