India state of forest report 2019: volume I

It is heartening to note that as per the ISFR, 2019, the forest and tree cover of the country continues to show a rising trend despite immense pressure on our forests. The credit should go to various State/UT Forest Departments for their continuous efforts in implementing sound policies of conservation, sustainable management of forests and promotion of Trees Outside Forests. The report indicates that the positive changes in Government’s policies relaxing restrictions on felling of trees from private lands and easing of transit rules, have generated the right atmosphere for planting more trees on private lands, leading to improved livelihoods and income opportunities. This strategy will also result in additional benefits in terms of enhanced carbon stock and ecosystem services. This report, besides providing regular information on forest cover, mangroves, growing stock of timber within and outside forests, contains dedicated chapters on Bamboo Resources, Forest Fires, Carbon Stock, People and Forests and Forest Types and Bio-diversity. It is thus a storehouse of useful data for meeting the information needs of different stakeholders of the forestry sector.