Has forest cover really increased?
The provisional figures for India’s forest cover are now ready, and Down To Earth has managed to acquire a copy. (see table: Change in forest cover) The figures, when compared to earlier ones, show an overall increase of 236, 800 ha of forest. Is that really so?
Every two years, the Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (fsi) generates satellite-based mapping of the country’s forest resources. Each time it does so, the report becomes a festive occasion: the government can celebrate an increase in forest cover. But a small collective of bemused observers watches as this bi-ennial circus unfolds. Repeate dly, they have to remind the celebrants that it is only statistics
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