Trees are one of the most efficient and cost-effective carbon sinks, considered a 'silver bullet' solution to climate mitigation. They also provide numerous goods, foods, and services, including habitat and sustenance for a vast array of living creatures.
Plagued with increasing environmental challenges, including climate change, India too is witnessing a growing trend of increased environmental awareness and concern to make the planet earth healthier and sustainable. This is also translating into various proactive actions, among which the tree planting is one of the most favoured ones. India has pledged to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO2 by increasing its forest and tree cover and restore 26 million hectare (ha) of degraded land by 2030 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Bonn Challenge, respectively.
Trees Outside Forests (TOF) refer to trees growing outside notified forest areas, including small forests, plantations, and scattered trees along roads, parks, homesteads and agricultural lands on private, community or government lands. This category also encompasses tree patches less than 1 ha in size outside recorded forest areas, known as tree cover.
According to India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, the country’s forest and tree cover increased by 1,445 sq km since 2021, of which the increase in forest cover was only 156.4 sq km, having a gain of 149 sq km occurring outside the Recorded Forest. Notably, tree cover growth (1,290 sq km) accounted for 89 per cent of this gain, significantly contributing to the country's green growth. Without this increase in tree cover, the overall growth in forest and tree cover would have been much lower and this is also an indicator of a paradigm shift that forests are no longer confined to wilderness zone but are spreading across urban and rural landscapes alike.
Apart from contributing directly to ecosystem services, more specifically carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation, TOF also play a vital role in providing supplementary food and livelihood sources for local communities, thereby contributing significantly to rural household economies, food security and environmental conservation.
In developing countries, they are the only wood resources for local people, contributing up to 20 per cent of household income. Agroforestry, playing a major role in agricultural landscapes, is one of the major uses of TOF and provides subsistence to nearly 900 million people in the tropical region.
Despite having exceptional contribution capacity, especially in developing countries, TOF are by and large neglected, overlooked and undervalued forest resources. Much of this neglect is due to their dispersed location, skewed distribution and recognition as a contributor to national progress.
Recognising the exceptional contribution and importance of TOF, the Forest Survey of India for the first time presented the report on TOF in its ISFR-2019, estimating an extent of 29.28 million ha (MHA) under TOF. In the ISFR-2023 report, the extent under TOF is assessed to be 30.29 MHA, constituting 37 per cent of the Tree and Forest Cover of the country.
The tree species constituting the major share of volume under the TOF category are mango (13.25%), neem (7%), mahua (4.27%) and coconut (4.3%). Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have the maximum tree cover, with 14,524, 10,841, and 8,950 sq km, respectively. Various agro-forestry practices in rural landscapes, urban plantations of various forms and extent, including Miyawaki drives, are major areas of increasing TOF. The contribution of Miyawaki to TOF, intending to grow mini forests in urban areas, also cannot be ignored in spite of the fact that these are facing criticism for ignoring local ecology, long-term viability and high raising cost.
In addition, we are also witnessing increasing political sensitivity and priority for environmental conservation, including tree planting, as reflected in the form of recent tree planting drives in the states which have succeeded in involving more and more people and local institutions.
Trees outside forests, with immense ecological and economic value, complement natural forests and align with the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) 2050 vision of ‘Forests and Society.’
Their sustainable integration requires landscape-level planning that addresses incentives, land availability, funding and institutional linkages. Recognising and protecting TOF ensures environmental stability, livelihoods, and balanced development for India’s sustainable future.
The proactive approach of Government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is reflected in its recently released Green India Mission revised guidelines, where due emphasis is given to community-led afforestation primarily outside the notified forests, assisted natural regeneration, and enhanced eco-restoration techniques.
These initiatives are bound to support ecosystem-based climate resilience and interventions besides helping to further improve India's area under TOF in the coming years.
With rapid urbanisation and rising land pressures, a global land squeeze is intensifying, especially in cities. TOF will be vital, offering ecosystem benefits, health improvements and stress relief. Recognising and promoting TOF must become a priority for policymakers and planners to ensure resilient urban futures.
The recent assessment of India's forest cover reveals a concerning 11 per cent increase within Reserved Forest Areas (RFA). This demands serious introspection among policymakers and executives to take corrective actions especially inside RFA besides utilising this as an opportunity to further strengthen existing mechanisms and strategies to improve forest growth outside forests.
India is set to improve green cover outside forests by recognising TOF in Forest Survey of India (FSI) assessments and promoting agro-forestry and other initiatives which is well reflected in the revised Green India Mission guidelines, aiming for sustainable livelihoods and environmental conservation.
In order to achieve India's restoration target of 26 MHA degraded land and also to improve the area under forests, the increasing trend of growth of OTF provides us a golden opportunity, especially for the states having less area under forest, like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar and concerted efforts and a proactive approach in these directions can help enhance green cover not only outside forests but inside reserved forests too.
With due priority, proper assessment and further development, TOF can become a game-changer to give much solace to the states and countries eagerly waiting to improve their forest cover and benefit their climate and people in the coming years.
(Views are personal)