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(i) The forest cover in India is only 22.50 per cent as against the world average of about 35 per cent. The overall desired forest area as recommended in the National Forest Policy of India 1952, should be 33 per cent (25 per cent in plains and 60 per cent in hilly regions) of the total geographical area of the country. This percentage is missing in almost all the states and UTs except Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Goa, Kerala, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Uttrakhand, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Lakshadweep. The states of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan have less than 5 per cent of their areas under forest. India has 99 National Parks, 513 wild-life sanctuaries and 18 Biosphere Reserves.
(ii) Most of the forests of India are not gregarious which creates problems in their exploitation. Teak, sal, bamboo, pines, oak, deodar, fir, spruce and larch are, however, exceptions.
(iii) About 40 per cent of the total forest area in not easily accessible.
(iv) In about 50 per cent of the total forest area, tribals have been given the rights of free grazing and cutting fuel-wood and timber for their personal consumption. This right is often misused.
(v) The felling of trees is still primitive and indigenous in most of the forests. This damages the ecosystem, leads to more soil erosion and delays the regeneration of forests.
(vi) There is inadequate trained personnel in forestry. Much of the energy of the available manpower is used in the protection and conservation of forests instead of their regeneration.
(vii) There is inadequate protection against forest fire, insects, pests and plant diseases.
(viii) The shifting cultivation in the wet mountainous regions of the country is another serious problem of the Indian forests.
(ix) According to the data published by the new environmentalists, India is losing 135 hectare forest daily (12th June-2013, Hindu, Delhi ed.)