Safeguard the bridge that connects us with nature
Forests are more than a collection of trees. They are the vital link between humans and nature — our lungs, our water towers, and the foundation of countless livelihoods.
They clean the air we breathe, hold the soil in place, regulate rainfall, and shelter most of the planet’s biodiversity. Yet, we continue to lose them at a pace the Earth cannot sustain.
Globally, the picture remains grim. The world loses about 10 million hectares of forest cover each year. After accounting for new plantations and regrowth, the net loss still stands at around 4.7 million hectares annually. The bulk of this destruction — nearly 95% — is happening in the tropics. Latin America and Southeast Asia are the worst hit, where forests are cleared for agriculture, logging, and infrastructure.
There are signs of a slowdown in some places, but not enough. The world had set a target to halt deforestation by 2030. We are missing it. In 2023 alone, 6.37 million hectares of forest were destroyed. That is 45% above the level needed to stay on track for the 2030 goal. At this rate, commitments made on paper will not translate into forests standing on the ground.
India’s story is mixed. The country lost around 18,200 hectares of primary forest cover each year in recent times. Between 2015 and 2020, India lost approximately 668,400 hectares, making it the second-highest country globally for forest loss after Brazil. Northeastern states have borne much of this. Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur report significant losses, largely due to shifting cultivation, expansion of farmland, illegal logging, and natural disturbances like landslides and fires.
But there is also progress worth to be appreciated. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s latest assessment, India now ranks ninth in the world in total forest area and holds the third spot for annual net gain in forest cover. Between 2015 and 2025, India added about 1,91,000 hectares of forest every year. Only China, with 1.69 million hectares per year, and Russia, with 9,42,000 hectares, did better.
Globally, the total forest area stands at 4.14 billion hectares, covering 32% of the world’s land. More than half of it is concentrated in just five countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and China. Other nations seeing notable gains include Turkiye, Australia, France, Indonesia, South Africa, Canada and Vietnam. Importantly, Asia is the only region to show an overall increase in forest area between 1990 and 2025, driven largely by China and India.
This gain matters for a country like India. More forest means stronger carbon sinks that pull CO2 out of the atmosphere and help meet climate targets. It means better habitats for wildlife, from tigers to hornbills, and stronger ecosystem services that support agriculture and fisheries.
Forests regulate local climate, recharge groundwater, maintain water cycles, and prevent soil erosion that silts up our rivers and dams. They also give us cleaner air and water — a public health benefit we cannot buy.
The challenge now is to ensure this gain is real, diverse, and lasting. Plantations help with numbers, but natural forests with mixed species do far more for biodiversity and resilience. We must curb the drivers of loss in the Northeast and elsewhere: support sustainable farming alternatives to shifting cultivation, enforce logging laws, and integrate forest protection with development planning.
Forests gave humanity air, water and life. If we protect and expand them, they will continue to do so. If we don’t, we break the very bridge that connects us to nature — and to our own future.
