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| Green India Mission | |
|---|---|
| Name | Green India Mission |
| Type | Environmental programme |
| Established | 2010 |
| Jurisdiction | India |
| Parent | National Action Plan on Climate Change |
Green India Mission The Green India Mission is an Indian afforestation and ecosystem-restoration initiative launched under the National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2010 to enhance carbon sinks, biodiversity, and livelihood resilience across forest and non-forest landscapes. The Mission was developed by agencies including the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Planning Commission of India, and the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, framed alongside national strategies such as the National Biodiversity Action Plan and the National Adaptation Programme of Action. It aims to integrate conservation priorities from instruments like the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Nationally Determined Contributions submitted by India.
The Mission originated from deliberations within the Planning Commission of India and policy reviews linked to the National Action Plan on Climate Change, responding to commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Principal objectives include augmenting forest and tree cover in priority landscapes identified by the Forest Survey of India and the Indian Institute of Science, improving ecosystem services in regions such as the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalaya, and the Deccan Plateau, and supporting adaptive capacity for communities in states like Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra. The Mission also sought alignment with biodiversity targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and carbon sequestration goals reflected in India’s Nationally Determined Contributions.
Implementation is structured through a multilevel governance mechanism involving the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, state-level agencies such as state forest departments in Karnataka and Assam, and technical partners including the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and the Wildlife Institute of India. The institutional architecture envisaged a Mission Directorate, State Implementation Agencies, and District Committees drawing expertise from institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and the National Institute of Advanced Studies. Funding decisions interface with ministries such as the Ministry of Finance and programmes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, while monitoring frameworks proposed linkages to the Forest Survey of India and the National Remote Sensing Centre.
Program components outlined included afforestation of degraded forestlands, eco-restoration of grasslands and wetlands, restoration of mangroves in areas such as the Sundarbans, enhancement of urban green cover in metropolises like Delhi and Mumbai, and community-based agroforestry interventions in districts of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Specific targets incorporated a goal to increase carbon sequestration through addition of millions of hectares of tree and forest cover, establishment of landscape-level biodiversity corridors across ecoregions like the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Northeastern Hills, and livelihood support packages modeled on schemes such as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. Technical elements referenced restoration protocols from the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and monitoring metrics adopted from the Forest Survey of India.
Financing modalities envisioned blending central budget allocations managed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, state contributions from treasuries of states like Kerala and Punjab, and potential international finance from bodies such as the Green Climate Fund and bilateral partners including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Resource allocation instruments referenced conditional grants under frameworks of the Planning Commission of India and convergence with employment funding through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and agricultural extension support via the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Technical assistance and capacity building were to be supplied by institutions such as the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and the Wildlife Institute of India.
Early implementation produced mixed outcomes reported by the Forest Survey of India and evaluations by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, with documented afforestation in several districts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh alongside pilot mangrove restoration in the Sundarbans. Monitoring using remote sensing by the National Remote Sensing Centre and field assessments by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education indicated localized gains in canopy cover and soil conservation, and livelihood benefits in community forest user groups modeled on Joint Forest Management arrangements. Impact analyses compared anticipated carbon sequestration contributions to India’s Nationally Determined Contributions and biodiversity co-benefits linked to protected areas managed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Trust of India.
Critiques raised by scholars at institutions like the Centre for Science and Environment and activists from groups such as the Social Forestry Movement focused on issues of tenure uncertainty for forest-dependent communities in states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, shortfalls in funding allocations from the Ministry of Finance, and governance gaps identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Technical concerns included species selection and monoculture practices highlighted by researchers at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and the Centre for Ecological Sciences, while civil-society reports referenced weak monitoring integration between the Forest Survey of India and the National Remote Sensing Centre and limited convergence with livelihood programmes such as the National Rural Livelihoods Mission.
Future planning documents envisioned deeper integration with India’s Nationally Determined Contributions, enhanced financing via mechanisms linked to the Green Climate Fund and multilateral development banks like the Asian Development Bank, and stronger coordination among the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, state forest departments, and research bodies including the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education. Emphasis in revised strategies included landscape restoration across ecoregions such as the Himalaya and the Western Ghats, mainstreaming of traditional knowledge from communities in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and alignment with national initiatives like the National Clean Air Programme and urban greening efforts in cities administered by municipal corporations of Delhi and Bengaluru.