A National Policy and Strategy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation is on the anvil. Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said this, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. As per India State of Forest Report, ISFR-2013, the forest cover of the country is 21.23 per cent of its geographical area.

Mr. Javadekar said the Government has initiated the National Mission for a Green India to increase the forests cover as one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, NAPCC.

The goal of the Mission is to increase forest/tree cover on 5 million hectare of forest/non-forest lands and improve quality of the forest cover on another 5 million hectares.