NEW DELHI: As part of its efforts to check the climate change phenomenon, the government has come out with a mission document aiming to increase forest cover to serve as 'carbon sinks' removing greenhouse gases.
The draft of Green India Mission document aims to double the country's afforestation and eco-restoration efforts in the next 10 years, with the primary objective of reducing GHG emissions.
Under the "ambitious" mission document, being put up for public consultation, the government aims to afforest and restore 10 million hectares of land. The massive mission, which is expected to cost Rs 44,000 crore over the next decade, aims to increase forested areas to 20 million hectares by 2020, reducing GHG emissions by 6.35%. Without the mission, GHG reductions would be 1.5% less.
"The mission recognizes that climate change will seriously affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources of the country and the associated livelihoods of people," the document said. The mission aims to address climate change by enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and ecosystems, adaptation of vulnerable species to the changing climate and forest dependent local communities in the face of climatic variability.
The mission aims to achieve "ambitious" goals by increasing and restoring forest cover all over the country. It also aims to monitor additional parameters like ground cover, soil condition, erosion and infiltration, run-off, ground water levels to develop water budgets as well as bio-mass monitoring indicators.
The mission also has targets for different types of forests, such as moderately dense forests, degraded forests, grassland and scrub, mangroves, urban forest land and even degraded agricultural and fallow land.
Under the mission, government is looking at assigning key roles for local communities and decentralised governance for its implementation. "Gram sabha and its various committees/groups including joint forest management committees, van panchayats etc would be strengthened as institutions of decentralised forest governance," the draft document said.
One of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, the Green India mission is yet to come to the Union Cabinet for approval. The ministry will finetune the proposal after receiving public comments on the draft.
