India moves up to 9th position globally in forest area

India has risen to 9th globally in total forest area according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment (GFRA) 2025 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), moving up from the 10th position in the previous report. In doing so, India overtook Indonesia, reclaiming a spot it had held in earlier assessments. Ahead of India are Russia, Brazil, Canada, United States, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Australia. While the numbers may appear encouraging, they obscure the country’s real environmental challenges.

India reports an annual net forest gain of 191,000 hectares, but this is minimal compared to China’s 1.69 million hectares and Russia’s 942,000 hectares per year. With a vast population and limited land, per capita forest availability is critically low, making high rankings misleading.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav, stated that India’s improved forest ranking “reflects the results of sustained government efforts and afforestation programs” and highlighted public participation initiatives such as ‘Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam’. While such campaigns exist, critics note that real threats to forests, especially for infrastructure and urban development, remain largely unaddressed.

State-level data from India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 shows the highest forest gains in- Andhra Pradesh (+647 sq km), Telangana (+632 sq km), Odisha (+537 sq km), Karnataka (+155 sq km), and Jharkhand (+110 sq km). Conversely, northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya saw forest losses due to shifting cultivation, infrastructure projects, and encroachment.

Urban areas remain critically deficient in natural forests. Cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Varanasi lack sufficient tree cover, with most greenery confined to parks or isolated plantation zones. Unlike other countries where urban forests are integrated and protected from real estate pressures, Indian cities routinely see trees cut down for roads, real estate, or infrastructure projects. Citizens often have almost no access to natural greenery, highlighting a key gap between reported forest gains and everyday experience.

Air quality further exposes the disconnect. Cities including Delhi, Kanpur, and Varanasi consistently record hazardous AQI levels, showing worsening pollution even as forest area statistics are highlighted. Policy measures, like the firecracker ban in Delhi, are selectively enforced, while broader environmental regulations are often ignored or poorly implemented.

In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, forests are being cleared for port expansions, tourism projects, and infrastructure development, threatening fragile ecosystems and unique endemic biodiversity. These primary forests cannot be replaced by plantation drives elsewhere, underscoring that forest gain statistics alone do not reflect ecological health.

Despite statements from Shri Bhupender Yadav and government reports, true environmental progress requires more than numerical rankings. India must focus on protecting existing forests, integrating greenery into urban planning, enforcing environmental laws consistently, and safeguarding ecologically sensitive regions. Without addressing these realities, reported forest gains remain largely symbolic.