ANI file photo
NEW DELHI: India has improved its global rank to ninth in terms of forest area as compared to 10th in the previous assessment, and maintained its third position in terms of annual net gain, showed the latest Global Forest Resource Assessment (GFRA) report.Released every five years by UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the report’s 2025 edition noted that though overall deforestation has slowed in all regions globally in the last decade, forest ecosystems worldwide continue to face challenges as the current rate of deforestation at 10.9 million hectares per year is still too high.Fire affected an average of 261 million hectares of land annually, nearly half of which is forested, whereas insects, diseases and severe weather damaged about 41 million hectares of forests, mainly in temperate and boreal regions in 2020, the report released in Bali on Tuesday underlined.Globally, forests cover 4.14 billion hectares which accounts for nearly one-third (32 percent) of the global land area, equivalent to 0.5 hectares per person. Nearly half of the world’s forests are located in the tropics.“The achievement comes on the back of Modi government’s planning and policies for protection and enhancement of the forest and massive plantation efforts by state governments,” said Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav while reacting to India’s improved global rank in 2025 compared to its previous position. Yadav on X attributed India’s achievement to the Prime Minister Modi’s call to plant trees under ‘Ek Ped Ma ke Naam’ (a tree in tribute to mother) campaign and “push for environmental consciousness” which, he said, are building awareness and increasing involvement of communities and individuals for afforestation. “This will ensure a greener tomorrow for generations to come,” the minister posted on Wednesday.GFRA, based on official national data, has put India’s forest cover at 72.7 million hectares in 2025, accounting for roughly 2 percent of the world forest area. According to India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, the country’s forest cover stands at 71.5 million hectares.Globally, Russia has the highest forest cover (832.6 million hectares) followed by Brazil (486 million hectares), Canada (368.8 million hectares), the USA (308.8 million hectares), China (227 million hectares), Congo (139 million hectares), Australia (133.5 million hectares), Indonesia (96 million hectares), India (72.7 million hectares) and Peru (67 million hectares). In fact, more than half (54%) of the total world forest area is concentrated in just five countries — Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and China.In terms of forest expansion, China recorded the highest annual net gain in forest area between 2015 and 2025 at 1.69 million hectares per year, followed by Russia (9,42,000 hectares), India (1,91,000 hectares), Türkiye (1,18,000 ha), Australia (1,05,000 ha), France (95,900 ha), Indonesia (94,100 ha), South Africa (87,600 ha), Canada (82,500 ha) and Vietnam (72,800 ha).The assessment report shows that Asia is the only region to record an increase in forest area between 1990 and 2025, led by gains in China and India.It shows that 91 countries reported agroforestry of 55.4 million ha in 2025. The majority (39.3 million ha) of this area is in Asia, mostly South and Southeast Asia, with India and Indonesia accounting for almost 100% of the regional total and for 70% of the global total.“FRAs are the most comprehensive and transparent global evaluations of forest resources and their condition, management and uses, covering all the thematic elements of sustainable forest management. The data they produce serve multiple purposes, from informing the global community of the status of forests and their changes, to supporting decisions, policies and investments related to forests and the ecosystem services they provide,” said FAO director-general, QU Dongyu, in the foreword to the report. Go to Source
