India Lost More Forest Cover Than It Gained Between 2015 & 2019, Shows IIT Bombay Study
India saw a net loss in forest cover from 2015 to 2019 – losing nearly 18 sq kms of forest for every 1 sq km gained – revealed a new study led by researchers from IIT Bombay and SASTRA Deemed University who tracked changes in the country's forest landscape using a newly-developed framework.
The findings sharply contrast with the recent India State of the Forest Reports released by Forest Survey of India biennially, which have typically declared an increase in forest cover. An increase of nearly 3,976 sq km in forest cover shown from 2017-2019, 1540 sq km in 2019-2021 and 156.41 km2 in 2021-23 – bringing total forest cover currently to 7.15 lakh km2, almost 21.76 per cent of the total geographical area.
'Our results clearly show that most of the newly added forests during 2015–2019 were islets, highly-fragmented and ecologically vulnerable patches, which do not help much in connecting large forest areas," said co-author Prof Vasu Sathyakumar from IIT Bombay. 'Our data source has a globally validated accuracy of over 85 per cent, making our connectivity results reliable. If FSI's data were made available in GIS-compatible format, our methodology could be readily applied to it."
However, the researchers noted that the two reports are not directly comparable, as FSI does not assess forest connectivity, and uses a different criterion from the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) to identify forests – defining forests as areas with at least 10 per cent tree cover, based on 23.5 meters resolution satellite imagery, without distinguishing between fragmented and continuous forests. On the other hand, IIT Bombay's new framework used the CGLS dataset that applies a 15 per cent canopy threshold and a 100 m resolution.
Despite this, the study underscores the need to rethink how forest data is assessed and analyzed in the country, and underscores the need to move beyond the current quantity-based afforestation approach to explicitly incorporate structural connectivity into forest planning.
WHY IS THE STUDY SIGNIFICANT?
The study has important implications, as it highlights questions about the effectiveness of afforestation programs across India. Even where forest cover seems to be increasing on paper, the real ecological benefits and resilience of those forests may be limited. It shows that large, connected forest support biodiversity, resilience and regeneration, while fragmented forest hinder wildlife movement and survival – critical for species like tigers that need expansive habitats to thrive and avoid human conflict.
'So, afforestation activities that led to creation of 'islets' – small, isolated forest patches – which are most vulnerable- may not meaningfully contribute to forest health or connectivity. The afforestation programmes such as CAMPA or the National Mission for a Green India can benefit by focusing on strengthening existing 'cores' – large and intact forest habitats – which are most resilient to deforestation and could potentially yield better-connected, and ecologically-sustainable forests," said co-author Prof. RAAJ Ramsankaran from IIT Bombay.
According to the study, nearly half of the 56.3 sq. km. of gross forest gain occurred in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, while Tamil Nadu and West Bengal together accounted for almost half of the 1,032.89 sq. km. of gross forest loss.
THE NEW METHOD TO TRACK INDIA'S FOREST COVER
The new framework recently published in peer-reviewed journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment uses remote sensing data and open-source digital tools to map forest types and their connectivity at both the state and national levels. It relies on an image processing technique to detect and classify the structure of forest landscapes. The researchers applied the analysis to digital forest cover maps of India for the years 2015 to 2019, obtained from the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) Land Cover Map.
Unlike most previous studies on forest cover, which report only net gains or losses, this study mapped forest loss and gain separately. 'Our framework is fully extensible to finer scales, such as districts or protected areas, and can be used to analyse the impacts of linear infrastructure like roads and rail lines on forest connectivity in a more focused manner," added Prof Ramsankaran. 'This makes it a valuable tool for long-term forest monitoring, planning and informed infrastructure development in and around forested areas."
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The Hindu
07-08-2025
- The Hindu
India lost 18 times more forest than it gained between 2015–2019, study finds
India suffered a substantial net loss in forest cover between 2015 and 2019, revealed a new study conducted by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and SASTRA Deemed University. The study said that for every 1 square kilometre of forest gained during the four-year period, the country lost nearly 18 square kilometres—an alarming ratio that underscores a significant fragmentation crisis in India's forest ecosystems. 'While the Forest Survey of India (FSI) and other independent studies regularly report on India's gross forest cover, there has so far been no systematic framework to understand structural connectivity and monitor forest fragmentation across the country,' the study said. Led by Professor RAAJ Ramsankaran of IIT Bombay, and Dr. Vasu Sathyakumar and Sridharan Gowtham of SASTRA Deemed University, the study applied Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) to forest cover data derived from the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) Land Cover Map. 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Rather than treating all forest areas the same, it helps identify which morphologies are most vulnerable (like islets) and which offer long-term ecological value (like cores).' He added that afforestation programmes such as the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) or the National Mission for a Green India can benefit by focusing on strengthening existing cores and building bridges between them, which could potentially yield better-connected, more resilient, and ecologically sustainable forests. The framework also has the potential to inform infrastructure planning by helping identify areas where connectivity is most at risk, thus supporting more scientifically informed decisions and reducing ecological disruption. Mr. Ramsankaran explained, 'The framework relies on an image processing technique called MSPA to detect and classify the structure of forest landscapes.' 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This suggests that even where forest cover is increasing on paper, the ecological value and resilience of those forests may be limited. Explaining the implications of the study, Mr. Sathyakumar said, 'Our results clearly show that most of the newly added forests during 2015–2019 were islets, highly fragmented and ecologically vulnerable patches. There is a need to move beyond the current quantity-based afforestation approach and explicitly incorporate structural connectivity into forest planning.' While the findings appear to differ to those of FSI, which often indicate an overall increase in forest cover, the results from FSI and this study are not directly comparable. FSI uses different criteria from the CGLS to identify forests and does not distinguish between fragmented and continuous forests. FSI defines forested areas as those with a minimum of 10% tree canopy cover and relies on satellite imagery with a 23.5 m resolution. 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It can be expected to give consistent results with similar datasets at finer resolutions and can be applied at different spatial and temporal scales. Mr. Ramsankaran said, 'Our framework is fully extensible to finer scales, such as districts or protected areas, and can be used to analyse the impacts of linear infrastructure like roads and rail lines on forest connectivity in a more focused manner. This makes it a valuable tool for long-term forest monitoring, planning and informed infrastructure development in and around forested areas, both in India and in similar contexts globally.' The researchers plan to further develop their framework to study local drivers of forest fragmentation and assess the effectiveness of current conservation and afforestation efforts.
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India lost more forest area than it gained during 2015 to 2019: IIT study
Mumbai, Aug 5 (PTI) India lost 18 sq km of forest for every one sq km gained during 2015 to 2019, according to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). All states experienced a net loss in forest cover during this period, said the findings of the study, led by Prof Raaj Ramsankaran of the IIT in collaboration with Dr Vasu Sathyakumar and Sridharan Gowtham of SASTRA Deemed University. The researchers relied on digital forest cover maps obtained from the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) Land Cover Map. Nearly half of the 56.3 sq km of forest gain took place in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, while Tamil Nadu and West Bengal together accounted for almost half of the 1,032.89 sq km of the total loss, it said. More significantly, over half of the newly-added forest covers are islets or fragmented which do not improve 'structural connectivity," the study said. This suggests that even where forest cover is increasing on paper, the ecological value and resilience of those forests may be limited, it said. 'Our results clearly show that most of the newly added forests during 2015 to 2019 were islets, highly fragmented and ecologically vulnerable patches. There is a need to move beyond the current quantity-based afforestation approach and explicitly incorporate structural connectivity into forest planning," Dr Sathyakumar said. Large, continuous forests are ecologically healthy and foster rich biodiversity, which are resilient to natural and man-made disturbances and can self-regenerate, the study said. These unfragmented forests deliver long-term socio-economic benefits. Fragmented forests, on the other hand, disrupt the movement and survival of plants and animals. Tigers, for instance, need large, connected forests to hunt, breed and survive without coming into conflict with humans, it pointed out. However, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) indicates an overall increase in forest cover. Ramsankaran said that FSI uses different criteria from the CGLS to identify forests, and does not distinguish between fragmented and continuous forests. FSI defines forested areas as those with a minimum of 10 per cent tree canopy cover and relies on satellite imagery with a 23.5 meter resolution. In contrast, the CGLS dataset used in this study applies a 15 per cent canopy threshold and a 100 meter resolution. 'Since FSI reports do not include forest connectivity assessments, direct comparisons aren't possible. However, our data source has a globally validated accuracy of over 85 per cent, making our connectivity results reliable. If FSI's data were made available in GIS-compatible format, our methodology could be readily applied to it," added Dr Sathyakumar. The researchers have proposed a framework that uses remote sensing data and open-source digital tools to map forest connectivity at both the state and national levels. PTI SM KRK view comments First Published: August 05, 2025, 19:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
