Srinagar, Mar 29: A US-based Global Forest Watch (GFW) report has revealed a significant increase in the forest cover of Jammu and Kashmir.
GFW revealed that Jammu and Kashmir experienced a net gain of 38,300 hectares (38.3 kha) of tree cover during the decade between 2000 and 2020, marking a 2.4% increase over the period.
The cumulative increase in tree cover during this time was 57,500 hectares (57.5 kha), accounting for 3.1% of India’s total tree cover growth, GFW data revealed.
The districts leading the charge in increasing tree cover include Kulgam, Kishtwar, Shopian, Udhampur, Samba, and Anantnag. Together, these areas accounted for 52% of the total tree cover gain in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kulgam emerged as the top contributor, adding 6,240 hectares of tree cover, far exceeding the regional average of 2,610 hectares.
The study also revealed that 11% of land cover in Jammu and Kashmir was natural forests and 3.3% was non-natural tree cover.
It said there were zero deforestation alerts reported in Jammu and Kashmir between March 18-25, reflecting the reduced destruction of the green gold.
The study revealed that there have been 3 VIIRS fire alerts reported so far in 2025 in Jammu and Kashmir. It said this was normal compared to the total for previous years going back to 2012. The GFW study said the most fires recorded in a year was 2016, with 167.
Pertinently , J&K as per the State of the Forest Report has shown an increase of 398.12 Sq Kms in forest cover in one decade from 2013 to 2023.
It said the forest cover of J&K in 2013 was 20,948.27 Sq Kms while in 2023 the forest cover increased to 21,346.39 Sq Kms.
Suresh Kumar Gupta, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Jammu and Kashmir told The Kashmir Monitor that Jammu and Kashmir was witnessing a substantial progress in the forest cover.
He said the union territory ranked top for contributing the maximum per-hectare carbon stock.