According to the findings of the Forest Survey of India (FSI), the green cover in Himachal Pradesh has started increasing in recent years. The latest biennial report of the FSI indicates that the turnaround, which came in 1996 when the forest cover registered a marginal increase from 12,501 sq km to 12,521 sq km, has been continuing. The green cover, which stood at 13,082 sq km in December 1998, swelled to 14,360 sq km in December 2000, an increase of 1,278 sq km.