Monitoring, Assessment and Reportingof Indicators/Parameters of Sustainable Forest

Management : Status in India

Subhash AshutoshIGNFA

Seven Thematic Elements of SFM

• extent of forest resources

• forest biological diversity

• forest health and vitality

• productive functions of forest resources

• protective functions of forest resources

• socio-economic functions of forests

• legal, policy and institutional framework

National Level Monitoring & Assessment by FSI

• Forest Cover• biennial cycle • nation-wide• wall-to-wall

• Forest Inventory• based on sample plots laid across the country• many parameters including carbon and biodiversity

• Forest Fire• near real time detection

Wall-to-Wall Forest Cover Mapping

Methodology• biennial cycle• digital interpretation of satellite data• intensive ground truthing• accuracy assessment

Analysis and output • district wise area figures• change matrix• Mangrove cover separately• area figures for hill and tribal districts• maps available on 1:50,000 scale• change maps

Operational System : An Overview

Forest Cover Assessments by FSI : A Brief HistoryCycle Year of Assessment Satellite & Sensor Resolutio

nScale

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

VIII

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

LANDSAT MSS

LANDSAT TM

IRS-1B LISS-II

IRS-1C LISS-III

IRS-1C/1D LISS-III

80m x 80m 1:1million

30m x 30m

36m x 36m

23m x 23m

23m x 23m

1:250,000

1:50,000

IRS-1D, LISS-III2003IX 23m x 23m 1:50,000

IRS-P6, LISS-III2005X 23m x 23m 1:50,000

IRS-P6, LISS-III2007XI 23m x 23m 1:50,000

IRS-P6, LISS-III2009XII 23m x 23m 1:50,000

Forest Cover in IndiaFOREST COVER MAP OF INDIA

Very Dense Forest

Dense Forest

Open Forest

Scrub

Non Forest

Water Bodies

District Boundaries

Very Dense Forest

Dense Forest

Open Forest

Scrub

Non Forest

Water Bodies

District Boundaries

NEPAL

CHINA

ARABIAN SEA

BAY OF BENGAL

BHUTAN

AFGANISTAN

BANGLADESH

LAKSHADWEEPISLANDS

Change Map

National Forest Inventory

• NFI started since 2001• about 8,000 sample

plots spread across the country are laid in every cycle

• estimates on various parameters are generated based on data of cumulative plots

Sample Plots

Bamboo (non-clump forming)Sample Tree

(North Quadrate)

Soil & Forest Floor (1m×1m)

0.1 ha Plot

Shrub & Tree Regeneration

Herb

Soil & Forest Floor

3m×3m

1m ×1m

22.36m

7.64m

N

W E

S

Data from sample plots

• species and diameter class wise trees • crown diameter• soil & leaf litter for estimation of carbon• listing herbs & shrubs for biodiversity indices• regeneration status• fire incidence• grazing incidence• presence of weeds• crop injury• information on bamboo etc

Other Mapping and Assessment Activities by FSI

• Forest Type Map• Shifting cultivation affected area• Burnt area mapping• production and consumption of forest products• information generated under various projects

• forest type mapping of the country has been completed by FSI

• the mapping follows Champion & Seth classification (1968), which classifies India’s forests into 16 type groups and 200 types

• for this study, mapping up to type group level has been used

Forest Type Map

S.No Type Group Area* % age1 Group1 Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests 20822.06 2.912 Group2 Tropical Semi Evergreen Forests 93021.16 13.003 Group3 Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests 144573.52 20.204 Group4 Littoral & Swamp Forests 4982.44 0.705 Group5 Tropical Dry Deciduous Forests 294740.89 41.196 Group6 Tropical Thorn Forest 16081.89 2.257 Group7 Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests 929.38 0.138 Group8 Subtropical Broadleaved Hill Forests 19267.10 2.699 Group9 Subtropical Pine Forests 29953.31 4.19

10 Group10 Subtropical Dry evergreen Forests 196.06 0.0311 Group11 Montane Wet Temperate Forests 5030.21 0.7012 Group12 Himalayan Moist Temperate Forests 29483.88 4.1213 Group13 Himalayan Dry Temperate Forests 5998.11 0.8414 Group14 Sub Alpine Forests 9794.30 1.3715 Group15 Moist Alpine Scrub 1678.99 0.2316 Group16 Dry Alpine Scrub 3077.72 0.43

  Total 679631.02 94.9817 Plantation/TOF 35931.59 5.02

  Total* 715562.61 100.00

Area under Different Forest Type Groups for the Country

* Area under forest cover and scrub as per SFR 2005

Monitoring and Assessment at the State Level

• assessment while preparing working plans• some States have developed capacities to do periodic forest cover monitoring e.g. AP, WB• internal monitoring and evaluation of schemes• monitoring as part of the externally aided projects• control forms• Statistics Cells – periodic bulletins

IPCC Good Practices Guidance (2003) & Guidelines (2006) for Monitoring and Assessment

• provide frame work for monitoring and assessment of various parameters like biomass, biodiversity, carbon, damage due to pests, fire

• 3 Tier Approach• Stratification• default values of emission and other factors/indices

International Reporting by FSI

• GFRA• 1990, 2000, 2005 and 2010

• NATCOM• 2003, 2009

Global Forest Resource Assessment-2010

FRA-2010

• 17 reporting tables that countries are to complete and submit to FAO.

• Specification of National Reporting Tables and guidelines have been issued by FAO.

• Countries have to follow specification and guidelines in compilation of various tables.

• Predefined formats for the tables

Overview of the reporting tablesTables VariablesT1 Extent of forest and other wooded landT2 Forest ownership and management rightsT3 Forest designation and managementT4 Forest characteristicsT5 Forest establishment an reforestationT6 Growing stockT7 Biomass stockT8 Carbon stockT9 Forest FiresT10 Other disturbances affecting forest health and

vitality

Overview of the reporting tables

T11 Wood removals and value of removals

T12 NWFP removals and value of removals

T13 Employment

T14 Policy and legal framework

T15 Institutional framework

T16 Education and research

T17 Public revenue collection and expenditure

Way Forward• Identify concise set of monitorable parameters covering

all thematic elements/policies & measures• periodicity of monitoring• Institution – SFD coordinated mechanism to be put in

place• National Institution in respect of each parameter to be

identified• Monitoring and assessment design to be standardised• SFDs to generate field level data as per the design• Synthesis may be done at the national level by

identified institutions for the States and Country• Capacity building on monitoring, assessment and

reporting at various levels in the SFDs and Institutions

Thanks