India's forest cover has witnessed a consistent increase over the past 15 years, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), as reported at the recently concluded United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) in the US.
A delegation from India, led by Jitendra Kumar, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary of MoEFCC, participated in the 19th Session of the UNFF held at the UN Headquarters in New York from May 6 to May 10.
The delegation informed the UNFF that the steady rise in forest cover was attributed to the country's significant strides in forest conservation and sustainable forest management, as stated by the MoEFCC on Sunday.
"Globally, India ranks third in the net gain in average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020," it added.
Emphasising the high priority accorded to biodiversity and wildlife conservation, the Ministry highlighted India's expanded network of protected areas, which includes over a thousand wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, tiger reserves, biosphere reserves, and other wildlife habitats.
India recently celebrated 50 years of Project Tiger and 30 years of Project Elephant, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to species conservation and habitat protection.
The delegation also spotlighted the establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance and the introduction of the ‘Green Credit Programme,’ aimed at incentivizing entities to engage in tree plantations and the restoration of degraded forest lands.
At UNFF 19, participating countries made a declaration to undertake urgent and accelerated actions to halt deforestation, forest degradation, and land degradation.
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