Endowed with vast natural resources, the state has 603.65 square kilometers of forests within four sanctuaries at Sipahjala, Gumti, Trishna and Roa. Geographically, it lies in a strategic zone as it falls in between the Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese biological realms. Thus Tripura stands at the gateway of floral and faunal confluence. Its forests are classified as evergreen and deciduous occupying 0.32% area of India that accounts for 12.78% of the plant resources of the country. Its forest density is 17.35% as against the national average of 11.73%. Listed as one of the 26 endemic centers in India, it possesses 1,545 plant species, 379 trees species, 320 shrubs, 581 herbs, 165 climbers, 34 ferns, 45 epiphytes out of which 7 are endangered, 7 endemic and 18 rare species. The state also has 24 species of orchids and 266 species of medicinal plants. It has the maximum Plant Diversity Index of 5.23, one of the highest in India. Over the years, habitat destruction mainly by rampant felling of forests and shifting cultivation, the forest cover dwindled from 76% to 33%. The state government is setting up 30 biological hotspots and the forest department has undertaken the task of enacting the three-tier Panchayati Raj System to increase awareness through people’s participation.

1. Medicinal Plant Board of Tripura, Agartala.