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Delhi’s green cover up over 5%, but forest area dips marginally
The report showed while Delhi recorded a slight decrease of 0.44sqkm in its forest cover, it recorded an increase of 18sqkm in total tree cover – a result the forest department said is due to large-scale plantation drives
The Capital recorded an increase in its green cover by 17.6sqkm--with 342sqkm (23.06%) of Delhi’s total geographical area of 1,483sqkm now under green cover--according to India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021.
The report, released on Thursday by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, showed while Delhi recorded a slight decrease of 0.44sqkm in its forest cover, it recorded an increase of 18sqkm in total tree cover – a result the forest department said is due to large-scale plantation drives.
A senior official of the forest department said despite a drop in the total amount of forest cover, Delhi still had “quality” forest cover. “We have actually seen an increase in moderately dense forests, which are denser than open forests. There has been a slight reduction only in open forests. But this means the quality of our denser forests has increased,” said the forest official, attributing annual tree plantation drives to an increase in Delhi’s overall tree cover.
A very dense forest is one with a canopy density of 70% or more, moderately dense forests have a canopy density between 40 and 70%, while open forests have a canopy density between 10% and 40%.
Delhi’s green cover as per the 2019 report was 324.4sqkm (21.88% of the total geographical area), while it was 305sqkm (20.6%) as per the 2017 version of the biennial report.
Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai, meanwhile, said the Delhi government’s pro-environment activities were now reflected in the Union government’s reports too. “Thanks to the historic public-first governance measures of the Delhi government, the green cover of Delhi has increased by almost 18sqkm. The Union environment minister has released the report, which has been prepared by the Forest Survey of India,” said Rai, stating that Delhi’s tree transplantation policy will further help them retain green cover which would have otherwise been lost.
According to data from ISFR 2021, Delhi’s very dense forest (VDF) has remained constant at 6.72sqkm in the last two years, however, there has been an increase in the moderately dense forest (MDF), increasing from 56.42sqkm in 2019 to 56.60sqkm. At the same time, there has been a reduction in open forest (OF) area from 132.30sqkm in 2019 to 131.68sqkm in 2021 – a reduction of 0.62sqkm.
Delhi now has 147sqkm of its total area under tree cover, an increase of 13.9% from 129sqkm in 2019.
To calculate green cover, Delhi’s total area under tree cover and forest cover categories is combined, both of which exclude shrubs and infant saplings. These are generally not reflected in satellite imagery, which requires saplings to be around 6-8 feet tall, and have dense foliage.
“Satellite imagery shows the canopy and density of trees. If individual saplings reach a height where their canopy has developed enough, they will be categorised under tree cover initially, and if saplings planted over barren land grow dense enough, over time, they can be categorised as open forests,” explained the forest department official quoted above.
This year, Delhi set a target to plant 3.3 million saplings and shrubs across the city and to get a total green cover area of 25% by 2025.
Another official of the forest department said based on the plantation work being undertaken, Delhi could achieve the 25% green cover target by the time the next report is released in 2023. “On average, over 3 million saplings are being planted in Delhi each year and covering previously barren areas. This is adding to the existing tree cover,” said the official.
Chandra Bhushan, environmentalist and CEO of iForest, said while an increase in the tree cover is a good sign, a reduction in the forest cover indicates diversion of land for other activities. “If the tree cover has increased, then the saplings have reached a sufficient height or are fully grown trees now, which is a good sign. At the same time, we should be adding to the quality of our degraded forests, which have invasive species such as the vilayati kikar. A drop in the forest cover should also be looked at,” said Bhushan.
