The latest forest survey report from India suggests a slight increase in the country’s forest and tree cover in recent years. But experts say the net marginal gain masks considerable declines across many biodiversity-rich forests and mangroves as well as in overall forest quality, reports Mongabay India’s Kundan Pandey.

The report, published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), notes that the country’s forest cover increased by 1,446 square kilometers (558 square miles) since 2021. This includes a forest cover increase of 156 km2 (60 mi2, or 0.2%) and a tree cover increase of 1,289 km2 (498 mi2, or 1.16%). But how these numbers account for plantations and forests isn’t clear.

“In India, plantation is happening in 18,000 sq. km. [6,950 mi2] annually. But the total forest and tree cover increase is merely 1400 sq. km [540 mi2] in two years. It is a total mismatch,” B.K. Singh, a former principal chief conservator of forests in the state of Karnataka, told Mongabay India. “Either the forests are being cut, and plantations are partly supplementing, or a major chunk of plantations are failing. It must be examined.”

Debadityo Sinha, climate and ecosystems lead at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, said the report shows India is losing prime natural forest and moving toward planted forest. For instance, forest cover has declined in biodiversity-rich areas like the Western Ghats, Himalayan states, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The shift in India’s forest quality can also be interpreted through the change in the various categories of forest, Pandey reports. The FSI classifies forest types by their percentage canopy density: “Very Dense Forest” (VDF) has more than 70% canopy density, “Moderately Dense Forest” (MDF) 40–70%, and “Open Forest” (OF) 10–40% canopy density.

Pandey writes that over the past decade, 46,707 km2 (18,033 mi2) of VDF, MDF and OF have degraded into nonforest areas, while 40,709 km2 (15,718 mi2) of forests have lost density, shifting from VDF and MDF to OF.

The FSI report notes that agroforestry, or the practice of integrating trees and shrubs on farmlands and rural landscapes, has grown by 20.02% over the past decade. While the resulting increase in tree cover is a good sign, Singh told Mongabay India that it’s not the same as improving forest cover. “So we are unable to hold on to our forest, but we are able to grow agroforestry,” he said.

The report also shows an overall decrease in India’s mangrove cover, Pandey reports, with considerable declines in the state of Gujarat and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At the same time, the report suggests there was increase in mangrove cover in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

This is a summary of “Forest Survey reveals India’s shift towards plantations, a threat to natural ecosystems” by Kundan Pandey.

Banner image of tropical forest in northeast India by Shreya Dasgupta/Mongabay.