This presentation is very important for all Forestry, Agriculture and Environmental science professionals.

1. College of Forestry
SAM HIGGINBOTTOM UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, TECHNOLOGY& SCIENCES
ALLAHABAD, 211007, U.P. INDIA
By
Hemant Kumar
Ph. D. (Forestry)
Assistant Professor

2.  India is a densely populated country with high pressure
on land and forest resources. The total geographic area
of the country is 32,87,240 km2 (328.7 million ha) and
the population is 1,210 million (census 2011) which
gives population density of 382 persons per km2 and
0.06 ha per capita forest.
 It is the 7th largest country comprising 2.4 per cent of
the World’s geographic area, and 1.8 per cent of its
forests, but supports 17.5 per cent of its population.

3.  About 68.8 per cent of India’s population (833 million)
lives in rural areas, and most of them have land based
economy which uses forest resources one way or the other.
 It is estimated that about 200 million people live in and
around forests, and fully depend for their livelihood on
forest resources.
 In addition, the livestock population of India is about 530
million as per the 18th Livestock Census, 2007 (MoA 2010)
and has registered a growth of 9.2 per cent during 2003 to
2007.
 About 38% of livestock depend on fodder derived from
forests by direct grazing or by harvesting, causing
additional burden on the forests, and is responsible for
forest degradation.

4.  Though India’s major area falls in the tropical zone, due to
large altitudinal variations and presence of high mountains
there exist almost all the climatic conditions, from hot to cold
deserts and from arid to wet areas. Topographically, the
country is divided into 4 broad regions: (i) The Himalayan
Mountains in the north contain the cold deserts and fertile
valleys, (ii) The vast Indo-Gangetic Plains formed by the
basin of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganges
and the Brahmaputra, the flat, fertile and most densely
populated area, (iii) The region comprising the Great Thar
Desert in the West comprising major part of Rajasthan and
lower regions of Punjab and Haryana and Rann of Kutch in
Gujarat and (iv) The Southern (Deccan) Peninsula bounded by
the Western and Eastern Ghats and, the Coastal Plains and
Islands which are also densely populated.

5. Particulars
Area
(mha.)
Forests 69.7
Not available for
cultivation 42.2
Permanent pastures 10.5
Misc. tree crops and
groves 3.4
Cultivable wasteland 13.2
Current fallow 14.8
Other fallow 11.2
Net sown area 140.9
Forests
Not available for
cultivation
Permanent pastures
Misc. tree crops
and groves
Cultivable
wasteland
Current fallow
Other fallow
Net sown area

6. Class
Area
(mha)
% of
GA
Forest Cover
Very Dense Forest 8.35 2.54
Moderate Dense
Forest 31.9 9.71
Open Forest 28.84 8.77
Total Forest Cover 69.2 21.05
Tree Cover 9.28 2.82
Total Forest &
Tree Cover 78.37 23.84
Non-forest
Scrub 4.15 1.26
Non-forest 255.49 77.72
Total G.A. 328.73 100
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Area(mha) % of GA

8. State/UT G. A.
Total
Area
Forest
Area
%
Forest
cover
Andhra Pradesh 275069 45102 16.4
Arunachal
Pradesh 83743 67353 80.43
Assam 78438 27692 35.3
Bihar 94163 6804 7.23
Chhattisgarh 135191 55870 41.33
Delhi 1483 177 11.94
Goa 3702 2151 58.1
Gujarat 196022 14620 7.46
Haryana 44212 1594 3.61
Himachal
Pradesh 55673 14668 26.35
Jammu &
Kashmir 222236 22686 10.21
Jharkhand 79714 22894 28.72
Karnataka 191791 36190 18.87
Kerala 38863 17324 44.58
Madhya Pradesh 308245 77700 25.21
Maharashtra 307713 50650 16.46
Manipur 22327 17280 77.4
Meghalaya 22429 17321 77.23
Mizoram 21081 19240 91.27
Nagaland 16579 13464 81.21
Odisha 155707 48855 31.38
Punjab 50362 1664 3.3
Rajasthan 342239 16036 4.69
Sikkim 7096 3357 47.31
Tamil Nadu 130058 23338 17.94
Tripura 10486 8073 76.95
Uttar Pradesh 240928 14341 5.95
Uttarakhand 53483 24495 45.8
West Bengal 88752 12954 14.64

9. 0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
450000 AndhraPradesh
ArunachalPradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
HimachalPradesh
Jammu&Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
MadhyaPradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
TamilNadu
Tripura
UttarPradesh
Uttarakhand
WestBengal
Forest Area
Total Area

12. Year Forest Cover (mha)
1987 640819
1989 638804
1991 639364
1993 639386
1995 638879
1997 633397
1999 637293
2001 653898
2003 677816
2005 690171
2009 690899
580000
600000
620000
640000
660000
680000
700000
720000
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Year
Forest Cover (mha)

13. Sector
Area
('000Ha)
River Valley 479.1
Agriculture 2506.9
Road 57.1
Industries 127.2
Miscellaneous 985.4
479.1
2506.9
57.1 127.2
985.4
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
Area('000Ha)

14. Sector Area('000Ha)
Defense 48
Encroachments 366
Forest village conv. 42
Hydel 118
Irrigation 132
Mining 144
Road 40
Transmission Line 28
Miscllaneous 215
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Defence
Encroachments
Forestvillageconv.
Hydel
Irrigation
Mining
Road
TransmissionLine
Miscllaneous
Area('000Ha)

15. Function of Forest %
Production 30
Protection of soil % water
cons. 8
Conservation of
Biodiversity 12
Social service 4
Multiple uses 24
Others 7
Unknown 16
29%
8%
12%
4%
24%
7%
16%
% Contribution
Production
Prtection of soil
% water cons.
Conservation of
Biodiversity
Social service
Multiple uses
Others
Unknown

16.  Forestry sector occupies an important place in India’s
economy in terms of its contribution to Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), employment and livelihood of poor people.
 Besides, it plays an important role in meeting the
requirements of forest dependent communities for food,
fuel, fodder, timber and other forest produce.
 The System of National Accounts (SNA) forms the basis of
national income accounts in India.
 The Central Statistical Organization (CSO), Ministry of
Statistics and Program Implementation, Government of
India prepares the National Accounts Statistics regularly for
the country of which GDP is one aggregate.

17.  Rapid decline in share of forestry sector in GDP has been due
to higher growth in other sectors. The average annual growth
in GDP of forestry sector during 1950-2006 was 0.9 per cent
against growth in overall GDP of 4.6 per cent.
 The GDP estimates for the forestry sector was Rs. 29,069
crores for the year 2007-08, which was 0.67 per cent of the
total GDP of the country.
 The main share (about 83 per cent) was attributed to fuel
wood which was properly estimated by NSSO for household
sector, industrial wood accounted for about 9 per cent and
NTFPs about 8 per cent.
 While estimating GDP for 2008-09, the CSO included the
estimated production of timber from ‘Trees Outside Forests’
(TOF) as estimated by the Forest Survey of India.
 The value of the timber was determined after getting the price
data from SFDs. The contribution of TOF was about Rs.
34,000 crores. Further, CSO

18.  It was estimated by FSI that 15.5 per cent of adult cattle
units of the country are totally dependent on forest for
their feed.
 CSO estimated the fodder value from forests and added
to GDP of forests under MFP which was about Rs.
12,500 crores.
 These two additions made a sharp rise in GDP estimates
of the sector at ‘current prices’ as Rs. 88,000 crores for
the year 2008-09 which was 1.70 per cent of the total
GDP of the country.

19. Period Share of GDP(%)
1950-51 2.6
1960-61 1.9
1970-71 1.8
1980-81 2.2
1990-91 1.6
2000-01 1
2005-06 0.7
y = -0.275x + 2.7857
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Share of Forestry Sector in Total GDP(%)
Linear (Share of Forestry Sector in Total GDP(%))
Forestry sector contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

20.  Traditionally, timber has been the most important and
valuable product of the forests. Other forest products like
bamboo, cane, fibers and flosses, leaves (Tendu), oil seeds,
gum, resins, essential oils, drug and spices etc. though
important, were categorized as “minor”.
 But since the last three decades or so, the focus has shifted to
non-timber forest products, specially after the 1988 National
Forest Policy. The timber production from the forest has
declined due to increased emphasis on forest conservation.
 To meet their increasing requirements, the wood-based
industries have to augment supply by importing wood and
promote plantations outside forests in farmer’s land of high
yielding genetically improved variety of tree species as well
as raise their own captive plantations.

21.  In India, until 1970s the natural forests remained the main
source of timber. The total production of timber from
forests was about 10 million m3 per year although the
country’s requirement was estimated to be about 15 million
m3 (NCA 1972).
 Timber production from government forests gradually
declined with increasing restriction imposed by Central
Government on felling of trees during 1980s for
biodiversity conservation and bringing more areas under
Protected Area network.
 The annual production of timber from forests had declined
to about 4 million m3 by 1990.

22. Year
Volume in
million m3
2005-06 2.33
2006-07 2.39
2007-08 2.39
2008-09 2.31
2009-10 2.18
y = -0.038x + 2.434
2.05
2.1
2.15
2.2
2.25
2.3
2.35
2.4
2.45
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
Volume in million m3 Linear (Volume in million m3)

23. Category Growing Stock (million m3)
Forests 4,499
TOF 1,599
Forests
TOF

24. States GS of all Tree spp.(mM3) GS of tree spp. used as timber Annual availability
Andhra 122.76 52.78 2.36
Arunachal 79.2 10.32 0.81
Assam 42.44 15.65 0.81
Bihar 45.13 26.19 2.18
Chhattisgarh 72.64 59.28 2.06
Delhi 1.15 1.08 0
Goa 4 2.29 0.02
Gujarat 122.12 75.61 4.92
Haryana 15.58 14.6 1.9
HP 21.23 17.33 0.67
J & K 149.46 105.46 0.84
Jharkhand 53.32 43.52 1.51
Karnataka 105.26 52.01 2.09
Kerala 50.05 27.59 1.01
MP 86.49 70.32 2.68
Maharashtra 151.4 97.37 3.53
Manipur 9.61 3.12 0.2
Nagaland 13.93 4.65 0.29
Meghalaya 23.47 7.62 0.49
Mizoram 9.51 4.32 0.31
Odisha 77.21 48.66 1.71
Punjab 19.39 12.84 2.12
Rajasthan 90.46 69.56 3.55
Sikkim 2.53 0.66 0.03
Tamil Nadu 73.36 23.8 0.87
Tripura 8.04 3.65 0.26
Uttar Pradesh 83.44 74.68 5.19
Uttarakhand 19.34 14.63 0.68
West Bengal 44.85 26.74 1.22
A & N 0.73 0.18 0.01
Chandigarh 0.1 0.09 0
Total 1599.54 967.25 44.34

25. -20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Andhra
Arunachal
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
HP
J&K
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
MP
Maharashtra
Manipur
Nagaland
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Odisha
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
TamilNadu
Tripura
UttarPradesh
Uttarakhand
WestBengal
A&N
Chandigarh
GS of all Tree spp.(mM3) GS of tree spp. used as timber Annual availability

26. State/UTs Contribution (%)
Andhra Pradesh 7
Chhattisgarh 7
Haryana 7
Himachal Pradesh 11
Jammu & Kashmir 3
Jharkhand 5
Karnataka 2
Madhya Pradesh 13
Maharashtra 5
Punjab 4
Uttar Pradesh 11
Uttarakhand 12
West Bengal 7
Other states/UTs 11
Andhra
Pradesh
7%
Chhattisgarh
7%
Haryana
7%
Himachal
Pradesh
10%
Jammu &
Kashmir
3%
Jharkhand
5%
Karnataka
2%
Madhya
Pradesh
12%
Maharashtra
5%
Punjab
4%
Uttar
Pradesh
10%
Uttarakhand
11%
West Bengal
7%
Other
states/UTs
10%
Contribution in Timber Production
Average annual production of timber from different
States in India during 2005-10

27.  In view of increasing emphasis on conservation of forest,
the Government of India took a policy initiative and
liberalized the import of wood and wood products in 1996
to reduce the demand supply gap by bringing them under
Open General License (OGL) category. Since then the
import of wood and wood products has been steadily
increasing.
 The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and
Statistics (DGCIS) under the Ministry of Commerce,
Government of India maintains the data bank of export and
import of commodities.

28.  It can be seen that import of wood has continuously
increased in the last two decades except for a slight dip in
2002-03.
 There was a sudden increase in the import by 60 per cent in
1997-98 after liberalization policy. The current level of
import of wood is about 6 million m3 of which round logs
alone constitute more than 93 per cent.
 Though wood is imported from about 100 countries, six
countries namely Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Ghana,
Ivory Coast, and Gabon constitute bulk of the import.
 About 80% of the imported wood during 2006-10, was from
these countries.
 The value of the imported wood and wood products has
gradually increased from Rs. 3,322 crores in 2003-04 to Rs.
7,688 crores in 2009-10

29. 866.91
490.18
907.19
1403.56
2391.54
2727.78
2098.67
3495.11
3607.76
4153.62
4155.77
5909.36
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
1991-92
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10

30.  Forest and tree cover of the country is 23.81% of the geographical area
which includes 2.76% of tree cover (with negligible increment in forest
cover).
 The north eastern states of the India account for one fourth of the
country’s forest cover and has net decline of 549km2 in forest cover as
compared to last assessment.
 Contribution of Forest sector in GDP has declined continuously.
 After National Forest Policy 1988, more emphasis was given on forest
conservation and import of timbers.
 Country has sufficient growing stock but annual availability is very
less.
 The annual estimated production of wood from forest is to be 3.17m
cum & the annual estimated potential production of wood from TOF is
to be 42.77 m cum (Total45.94 m cum).
 The total annual consumption of fuel wood for country is estimated to
be 216.42 m tonnes out of which 58.75 m tonnes comes from forests

31. 1. Anonymous (1961). 100 Years of Indian Forestry, Volume II: (Forests), Forest
Research Institute, Dehradun.
2. Census 2011. India’s population in the year 2011 down loaded from the
website of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
(www.censusindia. gov.in).
3. Champion Sir Harry and Seth S.K (1968). “A Revised Survey of the Forest
Types of India’, printed by the Manager Govt. of India Press, Nasik and
published by the Manager of Publications, Delhi-6.
4. FSI (2009). India’s State of Forest Report, Forest Survey of India, (Ministry of
Environment and Forests), Dehradun.
5. FSI (2011). National Forest Inventory of India (unpublished), Forest Survey of
India, (Ministry of Environment and Forests), Dehradun.
6. Ministry of Agriculture (2010). 18th Livestock Census 2007, All India Report
based on Quick Tabulation Plan-Village Level Totals, Department of Animal
Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Krishi Bhavan, New
Delhi.