India’s forests worth $2.5 trillion annually, study finds

India's forests provide ecosystem services worth $2.5 trillion per year, according to a new study published in Environmental and Sustainability Indicators. The per-hectare value of these benefits is about $31,000 annually, with tropical dry deciduous forests offering the highest economic value at $703 billion per year. Ecosystem services include provisioning (timber, food, medicinal plants), regulating (carbon sequestration, soil protection), cultural (recreation, sacred groves), and supporting services (habitats for species).

The study, led by M. Balasubramanian of the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru, used a meta-regression analysis of 45 studies conducted in India between 2000 and 2024. It found that provisioning, regulating, and cultural services are worth about $9.64 billion, $12.15 billion, and $17.17 billion annually, respectively. The researchers note that forests have often been undervalued in development planning because their benefits are not reflected in conventional economic indicators.