India moves up to 9th position globally in forest area, says Yadav
India's forest ranking improved to 9th globally, maintaining 3rd in annual forest gain, amid ongoing challenges in forest ecosystem health, FAO reports.
India’s total forest area ranking has improved to ninth from 10th even as it has maintained its third position worldwide in terms of annual forest gain, according to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Russia (832.6 million ha) has the highest forest area globally, followed by Brazil (486 million ha), Canada (368.8 million ha), the US (308.89 million ha) and China (227.15 million ha). The assessment is based on data that individual countries report and member nations report, reviewed by FAO. India’s forest cover is around 72.73 million ha as per FAO.
The information compiled in these forest resource assessment reports, released every five years, supports monitoring of international commitments, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030, according to FAO.
Deforestation has slowed in all of the world’s regions in the last decade, the report has found. The latest data show that forests cover 4.14 billion hectares – about one-third of the planet’s land area. In addition to slowing deforestation rates, FRA 2025 highlights further positive news for the world’s forests, which includes more than half of forests now covered by long-term management plans, and one fifth of forests now being within legally established protected areas.
However, the report notes that forest ecosystems worldwide continue to face challenges, with the current rate of deforestation at 10.9 million hectares per year still too high.
South America had the highest annual deforestation rate in 2015–2025, at 4.22 million ha, a drop of nearly 50% from the rate in the region in 1990–2000 (8.24 million ha). In Africa, the deforestation rate of 4.08 million ha in 2000–2015 (mainly reflecting trends in Eastern and Southern Africa and Western and Central Africa) declined to 3.45 million ha per year in 2015–2025.
A large area under agro-forestry in India:
The category “other land with tree cover” comprises areas found in rural landscapes and urban settings that meet the thresholds for tree cover established by FAO’s forest definition but for which the land use is not forest (and therefore the land does not meet FAO’s forest definition). This category is reported because of its importance in the provision of goods and services. It has four subcategories: (1) trees in urban settings; (2) tree orchards; (3) palms; and (4) agroforestry, FAO has said.
Ninety-one countries and areas reported a total land area subject to agroforestry of 55.4 million ha in 2025. The majority (39.3 million ha) of this area is in Asia, mostly South and Southeast Asia, with India and Indonesia accounting for almost 100% of the regional total and for 70 percent of the global total. Around 12.87 million ha is under agroforestry in India, FAO report has said.
To be clear, India defines forest area as “all lands, more than one hectare with a tree canopy density of more than or equal to 10% irrespective of ownership, legal status and land use. Such lands may not necessarily be a recorded forest area. It also includes orchards, bamboo and palm”.
Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, referred to the FAO report on Wednesday, cited India’s position in terms of annual forest area gain and said it reaffirms the country’s commitment to sustainable forest management and ecological balance.
He added that India’s remarkable progress underscored the success of the government policies and programmes for forest protection, afforestation, and community-led environmental action under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He referred to the “Ek Ped Ma Ke Naam” campaign launched on World Environment Day in June last year to encourage people to plant a tree as a mark of love, respect, and honour for their mothers and pledge to protect trees, earth, halt land degradation, and promote restoration of degraded land.
Yadav said Modi’s continued emphasis on environmental consciousness inspired people across the nation to participate actively in tree plantation and protection.“This growing public participation is fostering a strong sense of collective responsibility towards a greener and sustainable future. The achievement comes on the back of the Modi government’s planning and policies for protection and enhancement of the forest and massive plantation efforts by State Governments,” an environment ministry note quoted Yadav as saying.
“FAO at global level and Forest Survey of India should highlight clearly the area under natural forests and tree plantations and fruit orchards, since natural forests are rich in biodiversity and provide multiple Ecosystem services, unlike commercial plantations. Focus should be more on the state of natural forests and not just total forest area, which include commercial pulpwood plantations and fruit orchards,” said Prof NH Ravindranath, retired professor, Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science.
The country’s green cover has increased even as the India State of Forest 2023 report highlighted the degradation of large tracts of forests and an increase in plantations. Experts say the lack of clarity on the status of “unclassed” forests could have serious impacts on biodiversity, people dependent on forests, and ecosystem services of old-growth forests.
The 2023 report found that the total area available for density upgradation inside recorded forest area was approximately 92,989 km2, with a carbon sequestration potential of 636.50 million tonnes. It pointed out the degradation of forest density over an area of 40,709.28 km2 between 2011 and 2021, from very dense and moderately dense to open forests.
