India’s forest, tree cover increases by 1,445 sq km in 3 years: report

NEW DELHI: India’s forest and tree cover has increased by 1,445 sq km since 2021, reaching a total of 827,357 sq km, or 25.17 percent of the country’s geographical area, an official report showed on Saturday.

The forest cover now stands at 715,343 sq km (21.76 percent), while tree cover is at 112,014 sq km (3.41 percent), according to the India State of Forest Report 2023 issued by the Forest Survey of India, an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The states with the largest gains are Chhattisgarh (684 sq km), Uttar Pradesh (559 sq km), Odisha (559 sq km), and Rajasthan (394 sq km).

-Xinhua