The 18th India State of Forest Report released in December appears not to have been scientifically prepared and seems to convey the false impression that the country’s forests are in good health, a group of prominent citizens said in an open letter to the environment ministry on Monday.

The projected increase of 156.41 sq km forest cover and 1,445.81 sq km of forest and tree cover appears to be an incorrect assessment, the Constitutional Conduct Group said.

The letter said: “We observe with great alarm that while our forests are steadily deteriorating, with reports that India ranks second, globally, in deforestation, losing, in 10 years from 2013 to 2023, 1.49 million hectares of trees, the ISFR presents a rosy picture, lulling us into a state of complacency.”

The reality, the group said, is that deforestation was contributing significantly to the climate crisis “leading to frequent extreme weather events, forest fires, great loss of human and animal life, and huge economic losses”.

The group said that the 2023 India State of Forest Report, released about a year late, is a cause for concern due to its flawed reporting and because it revealed a significant reduction in the quantity and quality of forest cover.

‘Flawed reporting’

The methodology followed in the report to evaluate forest cover was “full of flaws” and it continues to include orchards and gardens of one hectare or more with canopy cover of 10% that “do not qualify as forests”, the group said.

The group said that coconut, oil palm and rubber plantations had also been counted as forest cover. “The reported increase in tree cover comes mainly from plantations…” it added.

Ground truthing, which is an important element of assessment, was not done adequately to exclude these non-forest areas and publicly-available satellite imagery shows a drastic decline, the citizens’ group added.

Ground truthing refers to confirming features seen in imagery by visiting the site.

No explanation was given for the “huge fluctuations” in the data of states for unclassed forests between reporting cycles, indicating that the data is unreliable, the group said.

According to the citizen’s group, diversion of large tracts of forests for developmental activities between 1996 and 2023 did not reflect in the report.

‘Decrease in quantity and quality of forest cover’

The report highlights a decrease in the forest cover between 2013 and 2023 in the North East, which was likely to have been due to oil-palm plantations that are ecologically damaging and need to be discouraged, the group said.

The decrease in forest cover at high altitudes, or those above 1,000 metres, is of great concern as it “drastically lowers our safeguards” against problems such as landslides and floods, the group said. “Despite such reports, the government continues to divert forest lands in high altitudes for dams, roads etc,” the letter said.

The group also said that the 2023 report promotes the Green Credit Programme for plantations in degraded areas. “While degradation of 92,989 sq km of forests is a disgraceful outcome, the ISFR is projecting its identification as positive, showing this area as available for enrichment planting!” it said.

The Green Credit Programme, the letter added, “is a flawed scheme allowing business houses to earn ‘green credits’ by paying for ‘dubious’ plantations” that can be used for diverting forests.

Also read: India’s forest cover increases but declines in biodiversity-rich areas