Development And Management Wing

Gujarat state having total geographical area of 1,96,024 sq kms is located on the western most part of the country. The climatic condition of the State is tropical. Average annual rainfall varies from south to north with the former receiving the highest rainfall while the later getting the lowest rainfall in the State. According to the rainfall pattern, the state has been classified in to eight agro-climatic zonesTable-1.

Out of the eight agro-climatic zones of the state, maximum area of the State (31%) is Arid Zone in the North Gujarat Region while the minimum area is under the heavy rainfall zone of South GujaratFigure-1.

Forest area of the state is 21909 km² of which 14769.58 km² area is reserved forest, 3001.40 km² is protected forest and 4102.44 km² area is unclassed forest. This constitutes 11.18% of the geographical area of the state.Table-2

Distribution of the forest area Table-2 is extremely uneven in the state. Anand district is having minimum forest area(Nil) and Kachchh district has maximum forest area of 5598.83 sq.kmsFigure-2.