Good news on the environment front. The latest India State of Forest Report released on Monday says India has now come to occupy the 10th spot in the world where expansion of forest and tree cover is concerned.

Compared to 2015, India has increased its forest and tree cover by 8,021 square kilometres.

The green credentials of the country have risen in a commendable manner.

The India State of Forest Report 2017 has reported an increasing trend in the forest and tree cover, in comparison to the global trend of decreasing forest cover during the last decade.

Now, India ranks among the top ten countries of the world in terms of forest area.

The report states that there is an increase of 8, 021 sq km in the total forest and tree cover of the country, compared to the previous assessment in 2015.

Much of the increase in the forest cover has been observed in Very Dense Forest which is an encouraging sign as the Very Dense Forest absorbs maximum carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

With an impressive statistic of 2141 sqkm Andhra Pradesh tops the list of states that have shown Maximum increase in forest cover.

Karnataka is second after adding 1101 sq km while another southern state of Kerala came in close third after adding 1043 sq km to the forest cover.

Odisha is at fourth place with adding 885 sq kms while Telangana grabs the fifth position with 565 sq kms of increase in forest area.

While the states where forest cover has decreased are Mizoram (531 sq km), Nagaland (450 sqkm), Arunachal Pradesh (190 sq km), Tripura (164 sq km) and Meghalaya (116 sq km).

In the North Eastern region the total forest cover is very high i.e. more than 70% in each state.

Madhya Pradesh remains the state with largest forest cover of 77,414 sq km, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 66,964 sq km and Chhattisgarh with 55,547 sq km.

Forests play a vital role in water conservation and improve the water regime in the area.

As per the latest assessment, water bodies inside forest cover have increased by 2,647 sq kms during the last decade. Mangrove forests have increased by 181 sq kms.

Mangrove eco-systems are rich in biodiversity and play a major role in protecting coastal areas from erosion, tidal storms and Tsunamis.

India is striving towards achieving its goal of creating additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030

The information given in the report will serve as an important tool to monitor the country’s forest resources and plan suitable scientific and policy interventions for its management.