Explanation:
The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. FSI, headquartered in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, has been publishing this biennial report since 1987. It provides a comprehensive, scientific assessment of India's forest and tree resources, including forest cover, tree cover, mangrove extent, carbon stock, growing stock, forest fires, agroforestry, and related parameters. The data is derived from remote sensing satellite imagery, supplemented by field-based National Forest Inventory (NFI). The most recent edition, ISFR 2023 (the 18th in the series), was released by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on December 21, 2024, at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun. Official reports and details are available on the FSI website (fsi.nic.in). This report serves as a key reference for policymakers, researchers, conservationists, and international reporting obligations, such as India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, GHG inventories for the UNFCCC, and global forest assessments by the FAO. It supports monitoring progress toward sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and climate goals.