Context

• A quarter of India’s geographical area (24.49 per cent) is under forest and tree cover, according to data shared in Parliament by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. These assessments are done by the Forest Survey of India, whose findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The last report was published in 2017.

Facts & Figures

• The lowest forest and tree cover in the country is in Haryana, at 6.79 per cent of its geographical area. Punjab follows with 6.87 per cent. Rajasthan’s forest and tree cover is over 7.26 per cent of its geographical area while Madhya Pradesh’s is 27.73 per cent.
• At 97 per cent, the Union Territory of Lakshadweep is on top – its geographical area is only 30 square km. Among the six states with the highest forest and tree cover, four are in the Northeast – Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

• Goa and Kerala are two other states with more than 50 per cent of their geographical area under forest and tree cover.
• In terms of geographical area, the highest tree and forest cover is in Madhya Pradesh, with 85,487 sq km.

SourceLIE