Nearly 65% of the total geographical area of the IHR is legally designated as forest land (National Forest Policy, 1988). However, this does not necessarily mean that all this area is actually under forest cover. These parts either remain covered under perpetual snow or are alpine pastures that do not support tree growth due to harsh climatic conditions. Therefore, in fact, forests cover only about 42% of the total geographical area of the Himalayan region. Of this, 50% is under very good forest cover, and 21% is under dense forest canopy.’ 

This 42 percent forest consists of tropical deciduous forests in the foothills, temperate forests in the middle altitudes, coniferous, sub-alpine, and alpine forests in higher altitudes. These finally give way to alpine grasslands and high-altitude meadows followed by scrublands.