As we observe World Forest Day 2025 on March 21st, the focus is on the theme “Forests and Food”, highlighting the crucial role forests play in ensuring food security and supporting sustainable agriculture. Forests are not only vital for biodiversity and climate regulation but also provide essential resources for millions of people worldwide. Here, we explore the top 10 countries with the most forest area, examine India's position, discuss the significance of the theme, and delve into the repercussions of deforestation.
Top 10 Countries by Forest Area
The following table lists the top 10 countries with the largest forest areas, based on the latest data available:
| Rank | Country | Total Forest Area (sq km) | Forest Cover (%) |
| 1 | Russia | 8,153,116 | 49.8% |
| 2 | Brazil | 4,966,196 | 59.4% |
| 3 | Canada | 3,469,281 | 38.7% |
| 4 | United States | 3,097,950 | 33.9% |
| 5 | China | 2,199,782 | 23.4% |
| 6 | Australia | 1,340,051 | 17.4% |
| 7 | DR Congo | 1,261,552 | 55.6% |
| 8 | Indonesia | 921,332 | 49.1% |
| 9 | Peru | 723,304 | 56.5% |
| 10 | India | 721,600 | 24.3% |
Source: World Population Review
India's Forest Cover
India is at number 10 in the world in terms of forest cover with a total forest area of around 721,600 square kilometres, which equals around 24.3% of its geographic area. In the latest India State of Forest Report, it has been indicated that India's forest and tree cover has increased to around 25% of its geographic area, with an increase in the forest cover than in the previous estimates.
Theme Significance: "Forests and Food"
The World Forest Day 2025 theme of "Forests and Food" emphasizes the interlinked connection between forests and food security. Forests offer a range of edible resources, such as fruits, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, honey, and wild meat, that are vital to the survival of billions of people, especially Indigenous and forest-based communities. Forests also support food production indirectly by ensuring healthy soils, modulating water cycles, and pollinators that are vital to agriculture.
Celebration and Awareness
World Forest Day is an international platform to highlight the critical role played by forests in sustaining ecological equilibrium, enhancing biodiversity, and ensuring food resources. On this day, nations are urged to make an effort at local, national, and global levels to implement activities related to forests and trees, including tree-planting campaigns. By doing so, an effort is made to sensitize people to the significance of forests and mobilize the world towards action to conserve these critical ecosystems.
Importance of Forests
Forests are important for a number of reasons:
- Food Security: Forests offer diverse edible resources and enable sustainable agriculture through ecosystem services such as pollination and soil fertility.
- Climate Regulation: Forests are powerful carbon sinks that reduce climate change.
- Biodiversity Conservation: They harbor an immense diversity of flora and fauna, adding to global biodiversity.
- Livelihoods: More than 1.6 billion individuals rely on forests for livelihood, food, medicine, and income.
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Consequences of Deforestation
Even though they play significant roles, forests are plagued by various challenges, with deforestation posing a significant threat. The impact of deforestation is vast:
- Loss of Biodiversity: Deforestation results in the extinction of homes for millions of species, with 137 species lost every day.
- Climate Change: Deforestation speeds up climate change by pumping stored carbon into the atmosphere, which adds importantly to greenhouse gases.
- Disruption of Water Cycles: Forests help sustain water quality and control local and global water cycles. Without them, water cycles are disturbed, causing more erosion and floods.
- Soil Erosion: Trees anchor the soil, resisting erosion. In their absence, soil erosion enhances, impacting agriculture productivity.
- Health Impacts: Deforestation leads to greater exposure of humans and wildlife, elevating the risks of zoonotic disease transmission.
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Challenges Confronting Forests
Besides deforestation, forests encounter other serious threats:
- Climate Change: Wildfires and changing climatic conditions are posing a danger to forest well-being.
- Sustainable Practices: Illegal logging activities and unsustainable use of forests undercut forest sustainability.
- Invasive Pests and Disease: These would inflict heavy economic and ecological loss on forest communities.
On World Forest Day, it's important to acknowledge the importance of forests in our lives and strive for sustainable forest management so that these essential ecosystems can keep flourishing for generations to come.
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Forests are essential for global food security, biodiversity, and climatic balance. Protection and augmentation of forest cover are essential, particularly in nations such as India, where the forests are supportive of ecological equilibrium as well as human sustenance. Through an appreciation of the value of forests, a resolution of the problems they encounter, and a compensation for the impacts of deforestation, we can strive toward a more sustainable world.
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