The Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, today expressed his Government's firm resolve to check the reduction in forest cover of the coutnry. The latest report of the Forest Survey of India estimates that "the real and meaningful forest cover in the area extends to only 11 per cent of the total land area". This has led to widespread concern and the need for raising public consciousness about the status of forest cover and how to reverse the decline.