The ‘India State of Forest Report (ISFR)’ for the year 2021 was released recently by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). The total forest cover & tree cover in India is about 24.62% of the geographical area, much less than the 33% target set to be achieved by 2022. Between 2011 & 2021, the total forest cover increased by about 21,762 sq. km, roughly the size of the state of Mizoram. Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change released the biennial ‘India State of Forest Report (ISFR) ’ for the year 2021 prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) that assesses the forest and tree resources of the country periodically. The status of forest cover, tree cover, estimates of growing stock, the extent of trees outside forests, mangrove cover, bamboo resources, forest carbon stock, and forest fire monitoring are presented in the report. The first ISFR was published in the year 1987 and ISFR 2021 is the 17th report in the series. Released the Forest Survey Report. In 2021, the total forest and tree cover in India is 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62% of the geographical area of the country. Encouraging to note that 17 states/UTs have above 33% of the geographical area under forest cover. pic.twitter.com/lGgCuMqB7X The findings of the report are mainly used for policy formulation, planning and management of forests and investments affecting forestry, and by researchers & students. The information in these reports is a source of input for global level inventories, and international reporting to organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and for various conventions & commitments like the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to which India is a signatory. FSI uses satellite data, digital analysis, and ground-truthing for assessing the forest cover mapping The methodology adopted for the assessment of forest cover has been subjected to regular improvements over time. Satellite data is used by the Forest Survey of India for assessing the forest cover in the country. In the latest report, information has been compiled using mid-resolution Satellite data based on interpretation of LISS-III data from Indian Remote Sensing satellite data (Resourcesat-II) with a spatial resolution of 23.5 meters with the scale of interpretation 1:50,000 to monitor forest cover and forest cover changes at District, State, and National level. Ever since the first publication, there has been significant improvement in the scale and resolution of data. The interpretation of data has also gradually shifted from visual to digital. Analysts with a good understanding of the topography, forests, and land-use-related aspects of the area, work on the satellite data for classifying the forest areas as per the adopted definitions. Following the interpretation of satellite data, extensive ground verification of the data is carried out which takes more than six months that helps in the classification of forest cover patches into the different canopy density categories. The necessary corrections are made based on the ground verification. Moreover, information from other collateral sources has also been used to improve the accuracy of the interpreted image. The report has the inherent limitations of remote sensing data which affects the accuracy of the forest cover mapping. For instance, the land cover with less than 23.5m dimensions, young plants with less chlorophyll, or inadequate foliage need not get captured by the satellite. At the same time, cloud cover & shadows, and haze affect the interpretation. Furthermore, agricultural crops like sugarcane and cotton, and weeds like lantana within forest areas also affect the interpretation. Forest cover in tiger reserves & mapping of climatic hotspots over India’s forest cover has been included in the 2021 report Besides the status of forest cover, tree cover, estimates of growing stock, the extent of trees outside forests, forest fire monitoring, mangrove cover, and bamboo resources, in the latest 2021 report, the Forest Survey of India has included a new chapter related to the decadal assessment of the change in forest cover in the Tiger Reserves, Corridors and Lion conservation area of India, which helps in assessing the impact of conservation measures and management interventions that have been implemented over the years.