Also called the National Mission for a Green India, is one of the eight missions under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

  • Launched in 2014
  • It is a centrally sponsored scheme
  • Implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

Aim

  • It seeks to protect, restore and enhance India’s forest and tree cover while helping the country respond to climate change through adaptation and mitigation measures

Objectives

  • Increase forest/tree cover on 5 million hectares (mha) of forest and non-forest lands.
  • Improve quality of forest cover on another 5 mha (total 10 mha treated).
  • Enhance ecosystem services: biodiversity, hydrological services, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration.
  • Raise forest-based livelihood income for about 3 million households living in and around forests.
  • Boost annual CO₂ sequestration by 50–60 million tonnes (initial 2020 target; later revised with larger 2030 goals).

Ecological Focus

  • Forest and tree cover expansion on degraded and non-forest lands.
  • Ecological restoration of degraded forests, grasslands, wetlands, mangroves, shifting cultivation areas, scrublands, ravines, cold deserts, and abandoned mining areas.
  • Special attention to ecologically critical regions such as the Aravallis and the Western Ghats.

 

Source: The Hindu

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