A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), released on July 22, reveals that India has substantially expanded its forest cover, adding an annual average of 2,66,000 hectares of forest area over the past decade. This achievement places India third globally among the top 10 countries with the most significant forest area gains between 2010 and 2020.
China leads the list with a remarkable gain of 19,37,000 hectares, followed by Australia with 4,46,000 hectares. Other countries in the top 10 include Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the United States, France, Italy, and Romania.
The FAO praised India for its innovative approaches to restoring degraded lands and promoting agroforestry. A new national policy designed to support and expand agroforestry practices has bolstered the country’s efforts.
The report also highlights positive trends in reducing deforestation in various parts of the world. Indonesia, for example, experienced an 8.4% decline in deforestation from 2021 to 2022, while Brazil’s Amazon saw a 50% reduction in deforestation in 2023. Additionally, the gross global mangrove loss rate decreased by 23% between 2000-2010 and 2010-2020.
Despite these gains, the FAO report stresses that climate change continues to pose significant threats to global forests, increasing their vulnerability to wildfires, pests, and other stressors. The report notes that wildfire intensity and frequency are rising, with boreal forests accounting for nearly a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires in 2021. In 2023, wildfires emitted an estimated 6,687 megatonnes of carbon dioxide globally, more than double the emissions from the European Union’s fossil fuel burning that year.
In the United States, the report projects that 25 million hectares of forestlands will suffer losses exceeding 20% of the host tree basal area due to insects and disease by 2027.
