Global Forest Watch (GFW) reports indicate that India experienced significant forest loss in 2024.
The Global forest watch (GFW) an open source forest monitoring plateform developed by the US based reserach organisation World Resource Institute (WRI) has recently released data highlighting India’s deforestation and forest degradation trendscfrom 2001 to 2024..
- 2024 Forest Loss: India lost 150,000 hectares of natural forest in 2024, leading to approximately 68 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions .
- Primary Forest Loss: The loss of primary forest increased from 17,700 hectares in 2023 to 18,200 hectares in 2024 .
Tree Cover Gain :
Despite these losses, India gained 1.78 million hectares of tree cover between 2000 and 2020, contributing 1.4% to global net gains .
- Drivers of Deforestation:
- Northeastern states show high forest loss due to shifting cultivation, logging, and infrastructure development .
- Central India is affected by mining, while the Western Ghats face pressure from roads, tourism, and plantations .
Global Ranking:
India ranked second globally in deforestation between 2015 and 2020, losing about 668,000 hectares per year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , for environment news click www.eminentnews.com
