Elephant is the largest terrestrial mammal of India .Elephant being wide ranging animal requires large areas. The requirement of food and water for elephants are very high and therefore their population can be supported only by forests that are under optimal conditions.
Indian elephants are mainly found in the central and southern Western Ghats, North-east India, eastern India and northern India and in some parts of southern peninsular India. It is included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). It occurs in 16 states in the country and is showing an increasing trend across its distributional range.
Asian elephants are confined to Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia and some Asian Islands – Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. About 60% of the Asian elephant population is in India.
Environmental movement is a type of social movement for the conservation of the environment or for the improvement of the state policy especially inclined towards the environment.Many environmental movements have emerged in India. These movements have grown out of a series of independent responses to local issues in different places at different times.
Major Environmental Movements in India
Bishnoi Movement: This movement was started by sage Sombaji around 1700 AD against deforestation. After that Amrita Devi forwarded the movement.Around 363 people sacrificed their lives for the protection of their forests. When the king of this region came to know the protest and killing, he rushed to the village and apologized, and declared the region as a protected area. This movement was the first of its kind to have developed the strategy of hugging or embracing the trees for their protection spontaneously.
Narmada Bachao Andolan: This movement is against the Narmada River Valley Project. It has drawn upon a multiplicity of discourses for protests such as: displacement risks and resettlement provisions; environmental impact and sustainability issues; financial implications of the project; forceful evictions and violations of civil liberties; issues pertaining to river valley planning and management etc.
Chipko Movement: Itis one of the world-known environmental movements in India.This movement initiated by Shri Sunderlal Bahaguna to guard the trees on the Himalayan slopes. Sunderlal Bahaguna not only successfully resisted deforestation in several areas but also showed that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful. He enlightened the villagers by conveying the importance of trees in the environment which checks the erosion of soil, causes rains and provides pure air. The women of Advani village of Tehri-Garhwal tied the sacred thread around trunks of trees and they hugged the trees, hence it was called the ‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the tree movement’.
Jungle Bachao Andolan: The tribal community of Singhbhum district of Jharkhand agitated against the forest policy of the Government in 1982. The Government wanted to replace the natural soil, forests with the high-priced teak. This movement was called by many environmentalists as “Greed Game Political Populism”. Later this movement spread to Jharkhand and Orissa.
Appiko Movement: It is one of the forest-based environmental movements in India. The movement took place in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in the Western Ghats. Its main objectives were afforestation as well as development, conservation and proper utilization of forests in the best manner. The movement created awareness among the villagers throughout the Western Ghats about the ecological danger posed by the commercial and industrial interests to their forest which was the main source of sustenance.
Silent Valley Movement: Silent Valley Movement in Kerala was against the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the river Kunthipuzha under the Kudremukh project.
Tehri Dam Conflict: In recent years, it is one of the most publicized environmental movements in recent years. The major issues of the movement include- seismic sensitivity of the region, submergence of forest areas along with Tehri town etc.
These environmental movements were mainly against the ecological concerns such as greater exploitation of the already depleted natural resources, construction of big dams etc. However, along with these ecological concerns, there were also economic and identity issues associated with these environmental movements.
Some of the economic issues associated with environmental movements
The economy of subsistence was pitted against the economy of profit. Along with this issue of social inequality (villagers versus a government that represented commercial, capitalist interests), the Chipko Movement also raised the issue of ecological sustainability.
Villagers relied on the forest to get firewood, fodder and other daily necessities. The livelihood needs of poor villagers were put at stake against the government’s desire to generate revenues from selling timber. The need for infrastructural development attracted many foreign logging companies, who were eyeing the vast forest resources. This led to denying of villager’s control over these natural resources on which they relied for both food and fuel.
Widespread flooding of the villages and forest areas, which was attributed to the mismanagement due to commercial logging and construction of big dams, led to displacement of villagers thereby losing their means of livelihood.
Some of the identity issues associated with environmental movements
Environmental movement is a type of “social movement that involves an array of persons, groups and coalitions that observe a common interest in environmental protection and act to bring about changes in environmental policies and practices
The villagers valued the forest for their own sake and were of the view that their existence and identity is closely linked to the forest. They were able to perceive the link between their victimization and the denuding of mountain slopes by commercial interests.
Women, being solely in charge of cultivation, livestock and children, suffered the most due to floods and landslides.
Women were given no share in the decision-making process, public power and political activities like men. These movements provided them with the opportunity to raise their concerns and fight for their rights.
The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar released the biennial, India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The report is published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) which has been mandated to assess the forest and tree resources of the country including wall-to-wall forest cover mapping in a biennial cycle. Starting 1987, 16 assessments have been completed so far. ISFR 2019 is the 16threport in the series.India is among few countries in the world where forest cover is consistently increasing.
Major Highlights
The total forest cover of the country is 7,12,249 sq km which is 21.67% of the geographical area of the country.
The tree cover of the country is estimated as 95,027 sq km which is 2.89% of the geographical area.
The total Forest and Tree cover of the country is 8,07,276 sq km which is 24.56% of the geographical area of the country.
The current assessment shows an increase of 3,976 sq km (0.56%) of forest cover, 1,212 sq km(1.29%) of tree cover and 5,188 sq km (0.65%) of forest and tree cover put together, at the national level as compared to the previous assessment i.e. ISFR 2017.
TOP 5 States in terms of increase in forest cover:
Karnataka (1,025 sq km)
Andhra Pradesh (990 sq km)
Kerala (823 sq km)
Jammu & Kashmir (371 sq km)
Himachal Pradesh(334 sq km)
Forest cover in the hill districts of the country is 2,84,006 sq km, which is 40.30% of the total geographical area of these districts. The current assessment shows an increase of 544 sq km(0.19%) in 140 hill districts of the country.
The total forest cover in the tribal districts is 4,22,351 sq km, which is 37.54% of the geographical area of these districts. The current assessment shows a decrease of 741 sq km of forest cover within the RFA/GW in the tribal districts and an increase of 1,922 sq km outside.
Mangrove cover in the country has increased by 54 sq km (1.10%) as compared to the previous assessment.
The total growing stock of wood in the country is estimated 5,915.76 million cum comprising 4,273.47 million cum inside forest areas and 1,642.29 million cum outside recorded forest areas (TOF). The average growing stock per hectare in forest has been estimated as 55.69 cum.
Total bamboo bearing area of the country is estimated as 1,60,037 sq km. There is an increase of 3,229 sq km in bamboo bearing area as compared to the estimate of ISFR 2017.
Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) represents the largest pool of carbon stock in forests, which has been estimated 4,004 million tonnes. The SOC contributes 56% to the total forest carbon stock of the country.
There are 62,466 wetlands covering 3.83% of the area within the RFA/GW of the country. The total number of wetlands located within the RFA/GW is 8.13%.
Amongst the States, Gujarat has largest area of wetlands within RFA in the country followed by West Bengal.
Dependence of fuelwood on forests is highest in the State of Maharashtra, whereas, for fodder,small timber and bamboo, dependence is highest in Madhya Pradesh. It has been assessed that the annual removal of the small timber by the people living in forest fringe villages is nearly 7% of the average annual yield of forests in the country.
TOP 5 States with largest forest cover (Area-wise)
Madhya Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Chhattisgarh
Odisha
Maharashtra.
TOP 5 States in terms of forest cover as a percentage of total geographical area
Mizoram (85.41%)
Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%)
Meghalaya (76.33%)
Manipur (75.46%)
Nagaland (75.31%)
Total Mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km. An increase of 54 sq Km in mangrove cover has been observed as compared to the previous assessment of 2017.
Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Gujarat (37 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (16 sq km) and Odisha (8 sq km).
The total growing stock of India’s forest and TOF is estimated 5,915.76 million cum of which 4,273.47 million cum is inside the forests and 1,642.29 million cum outside. There is an increase of 93.38 million cum of total growing stock, as compared to the previous assessment.
The extent of bamboo bearing area of the country has been estimated 16.00 million hectare. There is an increase of 0.32 million hectare in bamboo bearing area as compared to the last assessment of ISFR 2017. The total estimated green weight of bamboo culms is 278 million tonnes, slowly an increase of 88 million tonnes as compared to ISFR 2017.
Total carbon stock in country’s forest is estimated 7,124.6 million tonnes and there an increase of 42.6 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment of 2017. The annual increase in the carbon stock is 21.3 million tonnes, which is 78.2 million tonnes CO2 eq.
FACTFILE - India State of Forest Report (ISFR)
The biannual report is prepared by The Forest Survey of India (FSI), a body under MoEFCC, which conducts surveys and assessment of forest resources in the country.
The information given in the report will serve as an important tool to monitor the country’s forest resources and plan suitable scientific and policy interventions for its management. It will also serve as a useful source of information for the policy makers, planners, State Forest Departments, line agencies involved in various developmental works, academicians, civil society and others interested in natural resource conservation and management.
The India State of Forest Report 2019 is 16th such report in the series. In line with the Government of India’s vision of Digital India and the consequent need for integration of digital data sets, the Forest Survey of India has adopted the vector boundary layers of various administrative units upto districts developed by Survey of India along with digital open series topo sheets, bringing about full compatibility with the geographical areas as reported in Census, 2011.
Forests play a vital role in water conservation and improve the water regime in the area. Considering the importance of water bodies in forest, FSI has assessed water bodies in forest cover for the decade 2005-2015. As per the assessment, there is an increase of 2,647 sq km in the extent of water bodies inside forest cover between 2005 to 2015.
The report contains information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock inside and outside the forest areas, carbon stock in India’s forests and forest cover in different patch size classes. Special thematic information on forest cover such as hill, tribal districts, and north eastern region has also been given separately in the report. The report for the first time contains information on decadal change in water bodies in forest during 2005-2015, forest fire, production of timber from outside forest, state wise carbon stock in different forest types and density classes.
Forest Survey of India (FSI) has been assessing the forest and tree resources of our country on a biennial basis since 1987. The results of the assessment are published in its biennial report titled “India State of Forest Report (ISFR)”.
In the first-ever synchronised all-India Elephant Census 2017, the population of India’s national heritage animal, the elephant, is at 27, 312 across 23 states.
This means the population has decreased by about 3,000, compared to last census in 2012. In 2012, the population of Asian elephant, an endangered and protected species in India, was estimated at around 30,000 (29,391-30,711) and in 2007 it was estimated at about 27,670 (27,657-27,682).
As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the population of Asian elephants was about 41,410 to 52,345 and of that India alone accounts for nearly 60%.
Director of the Project Elephant, R.K Shrivastav, said he is hopeful that the exercise will set new standards in population estimation of elephants in India and in other countries as well. “Quality of data collected during the elephant census will be high. It will be helpful in effective planning of various issues relating to elephant conservation in the country,”.
India started Project Elephant in 1992 to protect the Asian elephant, its habitat and corridors and address the man-elephant conflict. Since then, the government has been counting the elephant population every four to five years.
At present, there are 32 elephant reserves across India, covering over 58,000 sq. km. But loss and degradation of wildlife habitats, including the elephant corridors, are increasing the human-elephant conflict.
Geographical Distribution
The highest population was in southern region (11,960) followed by the northeast region (10,139), east-central region (3,128) and northern region (2,085).
Country’s over 55 percent of elephant population is in Southern region and mainly in two states of Karnataka and Kerala.
Among the states, the highest population was recorded in Karnataka (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054).
In North-East Region, Assam has the maximum number of elephants, 5,719, followed by 1,754 in Meghalaya and 1,614 in Arunachal Pradesh. The population of elephants in north Bengal has been included in the Northeast population.
Overall elephant density of 0.23 elephants per square km in Assam. In Assam, elephants are found in 36 forest divisions. A total area of 11,601 square km was sampled for block count direct method for the state and the elephant density of 0.38 animals per square kilometre was estimated for this state.
In Meghalaya, much of the elephant habitat area is under community forest. A total of 232 blocks were sampled in the state and the overall density was 0.16 elephants per square kilometre.
Recent Initiatives
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEFCC), Dr Harsh Vardhan launched a nationwide campaign, “Gaj Yatra”, on the occasion of World Elephant Day on 12 August, to protect elephants, which will cover 12 elephant range states.
The environment minister also released a document—“Agreed points of action on trans-boundary conservation of elephants by India and Bangladesh”—which highlighted the issues on which the two nations have achieved consensus. The agreed points included constitution of a joint working group within 60 days to evolve and develop protocols and standard operating procedures for trans-boundary conservation and management of elephants.
It also called for facilitating trans-boundary migration along the India-Bangladesh border, establishment of response teams to guide such elephants which may stray into human settlements, ensure sharing of information, discouraging erection of electric fences for protection of agriculture and horticulture crops in the areas falling in identified migratory corridors to prevent death of elephants from electrocution and steps to protect, improve and expand natural habitats for elephants.
As per official numbers, in last four years, one human life was lost every day due to the human-elephant conflict. A total of 1,465 humans have been killed in the last four years (2013-14 to 2016-17).
Governments, both at the centre and in the states, have been making efforts to address the issue, but due to the huge pressure for development, natural habitats have suffered. They have even used methods like beehives and chilli fences to prevent the human-elephant conflict—to limited success.
World Elephant Day
World Elephant Day is a yearly worldwide occasion celebrated over the world on August 12, to focus the attention of various stakeholders in supporting various conservation policies to help protect elephants, including improving enforcement policies to prevent illegal poaching and trade in ivory, conserving elephant habitats, providing better treatment for captive elephants and reintroducing captive elephants into sanctuaries.
The objective of World Elephant Day is to make mindfulness about the predicament of elephants and to share learning and positive answers for the better care and administration of captive and wild elephants.
African elephantsare listed as “vulnerable” and Asian elephants as “endangered” in the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
Key Fact: As per the available population estimates, there are about 400,000 African elephants and 40,000 Asian elephants.
The 15th India State of Forest Report shows that India’s total forest cover increased by 0.94 per cent, from 7,01,673 square kilometers to 7,08,273 square kilometers since its last assessment in 2015.
The report also points towards an expansion of agro-forestry and private forestry. There is a jump from 42.77m3 in the 2011 assessment to 74.51m3 in timber production in ‘Trees outside Forests’ (TOF) category.
The increase of 8, 021 sq km in the forest cover has been observed as 6,778 sq km and that of tree cover as 1, 243 sq km. The total forest and tree cover is 24.39 per cent of the geographical area of the country. India has been trying to achieve to put 33 per cent of its geographical area under forest but has failed to do so.
Most of the increase in the forest cover was observed in Very Dense Forest (VDF) was a positive sign, as VDF absorbs maximum carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, followed by increase in open forest.
Class
Area
( in sq kms)
% of geographical area ( SFR 2017)
% of geographical area(SFR 2015)
Very dense forest
98,158
2.99
2.26
Moderately dense forest
(all lands with tree cover- including mangrove cover -of canopy density between 40-70%)
3,08,318
9.38
9.59
Open forest
(all lands with tree cover – including mangrove cover- of canopy density between 10% and 40%)
3,01,797
9.18
9.14
Total Forest Cover
7,08,
21.54
21.34
The total forest and tree cover is 24.39 per cent of the geographical area of the country. There are encouraging sign that much of the increase in the forest cover has been observed in Very Dense Forest (VDF), as VDF absorbs maximum carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The increase in forest cover in VDF is followed by increase in open forest. The only category that has registered a decline in the latest assessment is the Moderate Dense Forest.
India ranks among the top ten countries of the world in terms of forest area, despite the fact that none of the other 9 countries has a population density of more than 150 persons per sq km, compared to India, which has a population density of 382 persons per sq km.
India is ranked 10th in the world, with 24.4% of land area under forest and tree cover, even though it accounts for 2.4 % of the world surface area and sustains the needs of 17 % of human and 18 % livestock population. India is placed 8th in the list of Top Ten nations reporting the greatest annual net gain in forest area.
Three states – Andhra Pradesh (2141 sq km), followed by Karnataka (1101 sq km) and Kerala (1043 sq km) have shown the maximum increase in forest cover.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover of 77,414 sq km (equal to Assam’s total area) in the country in terms of area, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 66,964 sq km and Chhattisgarh (55,547 sq km).
In terms of percentage of forest cover with respect to the total geographical area, Lakshadweep with (90.33 per cent) has the highest forest cover, followed by Mizoram (86.27 per cent) and Andaman & Nicobar Island (81.73 per cent)”, the Minister stated.
The present assessment also reveals that 15 states/UT’s have above 33 per cent of the geographical area under forest cover.
Out of these States and Union Territories, seven States/UTs namely Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur have more than 75 per cent forest cover.
8 states – Tripura, Goa, Sikkim, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Chhattisgarh and Assam have forest cover between 33 per cent to 75 per cent.
About 40% per cent of the country’s forest cover is present in 9 large contiguous patches of the size of 10, 000 sq.km, or more.
Top 5 states where maximum forest cover has increased are Andhra Pradesh (2,141 sq kms), Karnataka (1,101 sq kms), Kerala (1,043 sq kms), Odisha (885 sq kms) and Telangana (565 sq kms).
The increasing trend of forest and tree cover is largely due to the various national policies aimed at conservation and sustainable management of our forests like Green India Mission, National Agro-Forestry policy (NAP), REDD plus policy, Joint Forest Management (JFM), National Afforestation Programme and Funds under Compensatory Afforestation (COMPA) to States.
Successful agro-forestry practices, better conservation of forests, improvement of scrub areas to forest areas, increase in mangrove cover, conservation and protection activities have also led to increase in the forest and tree cover.
Green Highways (Plantations & Maintenance) Policy to develop 1,40,000 km long tree line with plantation along with both sides of national highways will go a long way in enhancing the forest & tree cover.
Top 5 states where forest cover has decreased are Mizoram (531 sq km), Nagaland (450 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (190 sq km), Tripura (164 sq km) and Meghalaya (116 sq km). It is important to mention here that these states are in the North Eastern region of the country where the total forest cover is very high i.e. more than 70% in each state.
The main reasons for the decrease are – shifting cultivation, other biotic pressures, rotational felling, diversion of forest lands for developmental activities, submergence of forest cover, agriculture expansion and natural disasters.
Mangrove cover of the country has shown a positive change
As per ISFR 2017, mangrove forests have increased by 181 sq kms. Maharashtra (82 sq kms), Andhra Pradesh (37 sq kms) and Gujarat (33 sq kms) are the top three gainers in terms of mangrove cover. 7 out of the 12 mangrove states have shown an increase in mangrove cover and none of them show any negative change.
Mangrove eco-systems are rich in biodiversity and provide a number of ecological services. They also play a major role in protecting coastal areas from erosion, tidal storms and tsunamis.
The total mangrove cover stands at 4,921 sq km and has shown an increase of 181 sq km. All the 12 mangrove states have shown a positive change in the mangrove cover, as compared to the last assessment.
Mangrove ecosystem is rich in biodiversity and provides a number of ecological services.
Water bodies inside forests have increased over a decade
Forests play a vital role in water conservation and improve the water regime in the area.
State Forest Departments besides plantation and protection also undertake steps to improve water conservation through different interventions such as building Check dams, vegetation barriers, percolation ponds, contour trenches etc. under various Central & State Government schemes
As per the latest assessment, water bodies inside forest cover have increased by 2,647 sq kms during the last decade.
Maharashtra (432 sq kms), Gujarat (428 sq kms), Madhya Pradesh (389 sq kms) are top three states showing increase in water bodies within forest areas. Overall, almost all the states have shown a positive change in water bodies.
Bamboo
The extent of bamboo-bearing area in the country has been estimated at 15.69 million ha. In comparison to the last assessment done in 2011, there has been an increase of 1.73 million ha in bamboo area. The growing stock of the bamboo in forest has been estimated to be 189 million tonnes. There is an increase of 19 million tonnes in the bamboo-growing stock as compared to the last assessment done in 2011.
The total annual potential production of timer from trees outside forest has been estimated at 74.51 million cum.
The Government has recently enacted a Bill in the Parliament for taking out bamboo from the tree category, where it is grown outside forest areas. This will encourage people to grow bamboo on private lands, which will be helpful in increasing the livelihood opportunities for farmers and also enhance the green cover and carbon stock of the country.
Carbon Stock
The total growing stock of India’s forest and trees outside forests is estimated as 5,822.377 million cum, of which 4,218.380 million cum is inside the forests and 1,603.997 million cum outside. There is an increase of 53.990 million cum of total growing stock, as compared to the previous assessment. Out of this the increase in growing stock, there is an increase of 23.333 million cum inside the forest and 30.657 million cum outside the forest area.
The total carbon stock in the country’s forest is estimated to be 7,082 million tonnes, which shows an increase of 38 million tonnes, as compared to the previous assessment.
Striving towards achieving NDC goal
India is striving towards achieving its NDC goal of creating additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
As per present assessment total carbon stock in forest is estimated to be 7,082 million tonnes. There is an increase of 38 million tonnes in the carbon stock of country as compared to the last assessment.
Factfile - India State of Forest Report (ISFR)
The biannual report is prepared by The Forest Survey of India (FSI), a body under MoEFCC, which conducts surveys and assessment of forest resources in the country.
The information given in the report will serve as an important tool to monitor the country’s forest resources and plan suitable scientific and policy interventions for its management. It will also serve as a useful source of information for the policy makers, planners, State Forest Departments, line agencies involved in various developmental works, academicians, civil society and others interested in natural resource conservation and management.
The India State of Forest Report 2017 is 15th such report in the series. In line with the Government of India’s vision of Digital India and the consequent need for integration of digital data sets, the Forest Survey of India has adopted the vector boundary layers of various administrative units upto districts developed by Survey of India along with digital open series topo sheets, bringing about full compatibility with the geographical areas as reported in Census, 2011.
Forests play a vital role in water conservation and improve the water regime in the area. Considering the importance of water bodies in forest, FSI has assessed water bodies in forest cover for the decade 2005-2015. As per the assessment, there is an increase of 2,647 sq km in the extent of water bodies inside forest cover between 2005 to 2015.
The report contains information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock inside and outside the forest areas, carbon stock in India’s forests and forest cover in different patch size classes. Special thematic information on forest cover such as hill, tribal districts, and north eastern region has also been given separately in the report. The report for the first time contains information on decadal change in water bodies in forest during 2005-2015, forest fire, production of timber from outside forest, state wise carbon stock in different forest types and density classes.
The spatial information given in the report is based on interpretation of LISS-III data from Indian Remote Sensing satellite data (Resourcesat-II) with a spatial resolution of 23.5 meters. Satellite data for the entire country was procured from NRSC for the period October, 2015 – February, 2016. The satellite data interpretation is followed by rigorous ground truthing. In addition extensive ground data collected by field parties at more than 18000 points all over the country and information from other collateral sources are also used to improve the accuracy of the interpreted image.
Forest Survey of India (FSI) has been assessing the forest and tree resources of our country on a biennial basis since 1987. The results of the assessment are published in its biennial report titled “India State of Forest Report (ISFR)”.
