By Mr. S.K Agarwal
All cultures have their roots in geographical, biological, and social diversity in some way
or the other. If we want to understand the richness of our country, we have to see it on
the bio-diversity scale.
Greater species diversity ensures the natural sustainability of all
life forms and helps in the development of a healthy and rich ecosystem.
India is a megadiverse nation despite having only 2.4 % of the world’s land area.
It has some of the world’s highest rainfall to limitless deserts, the vast coastline to alpine
regions, never ending river deltas to beautiful tropical islands.
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There are 600 species of hardwoods.
As per the report published on 30th December 2019, India has a forest
cover of 80.73 million hectares, which is 24.56 % of the geographical area of the
country.
Forest cover with a density of 70% and above is called a very dense forest.
Forest cover with a density between 40 to 70% is moderately dense forest.
Forest cover with a density between 10 to 40% is called an open forest.
Area wise state of Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover followed by states
Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Maharashtra.
List attached as per the survey of 2015, source Wikipedia. Change of +0.21% is as per
the survey conducted in 2017.
| State / UT | Geographical Area | Very dense | Moderately dense | Open forest | Total forest area | % of forested area | % change since 2015 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 162,968 | 1,957 | 14,051 | 12,139 | 28,147 | 17.27% | +1.31% |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 83,743 | 20,721 | 30,955 | 15,288 | 66,964 | 79.96% | -0.23% |
| Assam | 78,438 | 2,797 | 10,192 | 15,116 | 28,105 | 35.83% | +0.72% |
| Bihar | 94,163 | 332 | 3,260 | 3,707 | 7,299 | 7.75% | +0.05% |
| Chhattisgarh | 135,192 | 7,064 | 32,215 | 16,268 | 55,547 | 41.09% | -0.01% |
| Delhi | 1,483 | 7 | 56 | 129 | 192 | 12.97% | +0.25% |
| Goa | 3,702 | 538 | 576 | 1,115 | 2,229 | 60.21% | +0.51% |
| Gujarat | 196,244 | 378 | 5,200 | 9,179 | 14,757 | 7.52% | +0.02% |
| Haryana | 44,212 | 28 | 452 | 1,108 | 1,588 | 3.59% | +0.02% |
| Himachal Pradesh | 55,673 | 3,110 | 6,705 | 5,285 | 15,100 | 27.12% | +0.71% |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 222,236 | 4,075 | 8,579 | 10,587 | 23,241 | 10.46% | +0.11% |
| Jharkhand | 79,716 | 2,598 | 9,686 | 11,269 | 23,553 | 29.55% | +0.04% |
| Karnataka | 191,791 | 4,502 | 20,444 | 12,604 | 37,550 | 19.58% | +0.57% |
| Kerala | 38,852 | 1,663 | 9,407 | 8,251 | 20,321 | 52.30% | +2.68% |
| Madhya Pradesh | 308,252 | 6,563 | 34,571 | 36,280 | 77,414 | 25.11% | -0.00% |
| Maharashtra | 307,713 | 8,736 | 20,652 | 21,294 | 50,682 | 16.47% | -0.01% |
| Manipur | 22,327 | 908 | 6,510 | 9,928 | 17,346 | 77.69% | +1.18% |
| Meghalaya | 22,429 | 453 | 9,386 | 7,307 | 17,146 | 76.76% | -0.52% |
| Mizoram | 21,081 | 131 | 5,861 | 12,194 | 18,186 | 86.27% | -2.52% |
| Nagaland | 16,579 | 1,279 | 4,587 | 6,623 | 12,489 | 75.33% | -2.71% |
| Odisha | 155,707 | 6,967 | 21,370 | 23,008 | 51,345 | 32.98% | +0.57% |
| Punjab | 50,362 | 8 | 806 | 1,023 | 1,837 | 3.65% | +0.13% |
| Rajasthan | 342,239 | 78 | 4,340 | 12,154 | 16,572 | 4.84% | +0.14% |
| Sikkim | 7,096 | 1,081 | 1,575 | 688 | 3,344 | 47.13% | -0.13% |
| Tamil Nadu | 130,060 | 3,672 | 10,979 | 11,630 | 26,281 | 20.21% | +0.06% |
| Telangana | 112,077 | 1,596 | 8,738 | 10,085 | 20,419 | 18.22% | +0.50% |
| Tripura | 10,486 | 656 | 5,246 | 1,824 | 7,726 | 73.68% | -1.56% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 240,928 | 2,617 | 4,069 | 7,993 | 14,679 | 6.09% | +0.12% |
| Uttarakhand | 53,483 | 4,969 | 12,884 | 6,442 | 24,295 | 45.43% | +0.04% |
| West Bengal | 88,752 | 2,994 | 4,147 | 9,706 | 16,847 | 18.98% | +0.02% |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 8,249 | 5,678 | 684 | 380 | 6,742 | 81.73% | -0.11% |
| Chandigarh | 114 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 18.91% | -0.09% |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 491 | 0 | 80 | 127 | 207 | 42.16% | +0.20% |
| Daman & Diu | 111 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 18.46% | +0.79% |
| Lakshadweep | 30 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 90.33% | 0.13% |
| Puducherry | 490 | 0 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 10.95% | -0.67% |
| Total | 3,287,469 | 98,158 | 308,318 | 301,797 | 708,273 | 21.54% | +0.21% |
The total carbon stock in forests of India is estimated at 7124.6 million tons, an increase
of 42.6 million tons as compared to 2017. The annual increase is 21.3 million tons,
which is equivalent to 78.1 million tons of CO2. That is the importance of our forests!!
In the northeast, except Assam and Tripura, all the states in the region show a decrease
in forest cover. The total cover of the northeast is 170541 sq. km which is 65.05 % of its
total geographical area that is 262179 sq. km. This is not a good indication since the
Northeast region keeps the maximum number of all kinds of plants and animals in their
forests.
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Some facts about the rich biodiversity of India.
India is super rich in its biodiversity. With only 2.4% of the world’s land area, India
accounts for almost 8% of all recorded species, including both plants and animals. We
have about 45000 species of plants, which is about 7% of the world’s total. The
uniqueness is that out of these, 33% are endemic (restricted to a certain area). Because
of climatic conditions, they can’t be grown anywhere else. There are 15000 flowering
plants, which is 6 % of the world’s total. India has no match in its biodiversity with other
countries. Unfortunately, we are not only concerned, rather have forgotten the richness,
bestowed upon us by nature.
We have a great treasure of more than 91000 animal species, representing about 6.5 %
of the world’s fauna. They include 60000 insects, 2450 fish species, 1230 bird species,
372 mammals, over 440 reptiles, and 200 amphibians with the largest concentration on
the western ghat and 500 molluscs. There are 400 breeds of sheep, 27 of cattle, and 22
of goats.
There are 62466 wetlands in the country, essentially water ecosystems where water
meets land and become the lifelines of India which is why they have to be protected and
taken care of. The mangrove cover, part of wetland has increased by 54 sq. km since
the last survey conducted in 2015.
With this, India comes eighth in biodiversity in the world.
A healthy ecosystem can better withstand and recover from all kinds of disasters. At
least 40 % of the world’s economy and 80 % of the needs of the poor are derived from
different biological resources available only in forests. To save them, we need to save
forests, in the absence of which this place will not remain habitable. India is a country
of 138 crores people with multi caste, culture, religion, languages, sects, and beliefs.
Despite having multiple layers of financial levels in society, people live peacefully. We
have ample scope and space for real development, because, the richer the diversity of
life, the greater the opportunity for holistic development and adaptive responses to
every kind of challenge, that keep on coming in life. That’s why
INDIA IS INDIA. But we need to recognize ourselves and be more sensitive and
concerned about our rich heritage, culture, and biodiversity so that we must keep them
intact.
