One in four hectares, and counting

At the FAO's forestry congress in Rome this week, India laid its green numbers on the table: forest and tree cover now spans 82.74 million hectares — 25.17% of the country's land — ranking India ninth in the world for forest area and third for net annual gain, according to the FAO's 2025 assessment. Under the Bonn Challenge, India has already restored 21.76 million hectares of degraded land toward its 2030 target of 26 million; its Ramsar wetlands now number 101; and forests have locked away an extra 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2 since 2005. The Aravalli Green Wall alone is sizing up 6.45 million hectares for restoration.