Why in the News?
- The revised Green India Mission (GIM) places restoration at the centre of India’s climate strategy, aiming to restore 25 million hectares of degraded forest and non-forest land by 2030.
- New scientific evidence (2025 IIT study) shows a decline in photosynthetic efficiency in dense forests, shifting policy attention from area targets to ecological quality and resilience.
Key Highlights
- GIM’s ambition and climate link
- The revised GIM is designed to help India meet its climate pledge to create an additional carbon sink of up to 3.39 billion tonnes CO₂e by 2030.
- The mission’s target—25 million hectares—is ambitious and links restoration directly to climate mitigation and biodiversity goals.
- Why quality matters: new scientific evidence
- A 2025 study by IIT Kharagpur (with IIT Bombay and BITS Pilani) reported a 12% decline in photosynthetic efficiency of dense forests across India, mainly due to higher temperatures and drier soils.
- This finding questions the simplistic assumption “more trees = more carbon sink” and emphasises species choice, ecosystem health, and climate resilience.
- Past achievements and the revised focus
- Between 2015–2021, GIM supported afforestation on 22 million hectares, and national forest/tree cover rose from 24.16% (2015) to 25.17% (2023).
- The revised blueprint shifts emphasis toward biodiversity-rich landscapes (Western Ghats, Himalayas, mangroves, Aravallis) and site-specific native planting rather than monocultures.
- Social dimension and ground practice
- Nearly 200 million people depend on forests; the Forest Rights Act (2006) recognises community claims and management rights.
- However, many afforestation drives historically bypassed communities, eroding trust. Positive models exist: Odisha’s joint forest management and Chhattisgarh’s biodiversity-sensitive plantations that support tribal livelihoods.
- Finance, institutions and innovative pilots
- Financing is critical: CAMPA holds ~₹95,000 crore, but utilisation is uneven (e.g., Delhi used only 23% of approved funds, 2019–24).
- States are experimenting with finance-linked pilots: Himachal’s biochar for carbon credits, Uttar Pradesh’s mass plantation and village carbon market exploration, and Tamil Nadu’s mangrove expansion showing co-benefits for coastal protection.
| Green India Mission (GIM) 1. A national mission under India’s climate and biodiversity commitments focusing on afforestation, restoration and ecosystem services. 2. It aims to increase forest/tree cover, enhance carbon sinks, and support livelihoods through participatory approaches. 3. GIM links with other schemes (agroforestry, watershed) for integrated landscape restoration. Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA) 1. A fund created to use money collected from diverting forest land for non-forest use to finance afforestation and related activities. 2. It holds significant financial resources but faces challenges in utilisation, targeting and accountability. 3. Reforming CAMPA to support participatory, ecological restoration is central to GIM’s success. Photosynthetic Efficiency 1. A measure of how effectively vegetation converts sunlight, water and CO₂ into biomass; critical for carbon sequestration performance. 2. Declines indicate stress (heat, drought) reducing forests’ ability to act as carbon sinks — thus restoration must improve function, not just cover. |
Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006
- Background and Objective
- Enacted as Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
- Aims to correct historical injustices faced by forest-dwelling communities due to colonial and post-independence forest laws (especially the Indian Forest Act, 1927).
- Recognises and vests forest rights and occupation of forest land in forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDSTs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs).
- Key Objectives
- Recognition of pre-existing rights over forest land and resources.
- Empowerment of Gram Sabhas for decision-making in forest management.
- Livelihood security for forest dwellers through legal tenure.
- Promote conservation through community participation rather than exclusion.
- Categories of Rights under FRA
| Type of Right | Explanation |
| 1. Individual Forest Rights (IFR) | Rights to hold and live on forest land for habitation or self-cultivation. Limit: up to 4 hectares per family, no fresh clearance of forest allowed. |
| 2. Community Forest Rights (CFR) | Rights to use, collect, and dispose of minor forest produce (MFP) like bamboo, tendu leaves, honey, etc. |
| 3. Community Forest Resource (CFR) Rights | Rights to protect, regenerate, and manage traditional forest areas for sustainable use. This is the most powerful right enabling community-led conservation. |
| 4. Development Rights | Rights to community infrastructure (schools, roads, dispensaries, etc.) in forest areas. |
| 5. Habitat Rights | Special rights for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and pre-agricultural communities to maintain cultural and livelihood practices. |
- Eligibility Criteria
| Category | Conditions |
| Scheduled Tribes (STs) | Must be residing in forests prior to 13 December 2005. |
| Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) | Must have resided in and depended on forest land for 3 generations (75 years) before 13 December 2005. |
- Institutional Framework
| Level | Body / Function |
| Gram Sabha | Primary authority to receive, verify and approve forest rights claims; prepares maps and records. |
| Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) | Screens and consolidates claims from Gram Sabhas. |
| District Level Committee (DLC) | Final authority to approve or reject claims. |
| State Level Monitoring Committee (SLMC) | Supervises overall implementation in the State. |
Implications
- Policy shift from area to quality: Restoration programs must prioritise native species, ecosystem function and resilience, not merely hectares planted.
- Stronger community role: Legitimacy and long-term success require community leadership and benefit-sharing, aligning GIM with the Forest Rights Act.
- Integrated climate strategy: High-quality restoration improves carbon sinks, biodiversity and climate adaptation (e.g., watershed protection, coastal buffers).
- Financing and governance reforms needed: Large funds (CAMPA) must be reoriented toward participatory planning, adaptive management and performance-linked disbursement.
- Research and monitoring imperative: Scientific monitoring (photosynthetic efficiency, survival rates) must guide species choice and adaptive interventions under changing climate.
Challenges and Way Forward
| Challenges | Way Forward |
| Community exclusion and consent gaps — plantation drives often bypass local rights-holders. | Make Gram Sabhas/forest communities central to planning; link GIM financing to documented community consent and co-management agreements. |
| Ecological mismatch & monocultures — use of exotic, water-guzzling species reduces resilience. | Mandate native, site-specific species lists, diversify plantings, and train forest staff in ecological silviculture. |
| Declining forest productivity under climate stress — higher temps and drying soils reduce sink efficiency. | Prioritise climate-resilient species, mixed-species stands and soil-moisture conserving measures (mulching, water harvesting). |
| Under-utilisation and poor targeting of funds (CAMPA/GIM) | Reform CAMPA rules to fund participatory planning, adaptive monitoring, and results-based payments; create public dashboards for transparency. |
| Limited technical capacity at local levels — frontline staff may lack restoration ecology skills. | Scale up training via existing institutes (Uttarakhand, Coimbatore, Byrnihat); deploy mobile technical teams and e-learning modules. |
| Weak monitoring and accountability — survival rates and species mix often untracked. | Implement national monitoring dashboards tracking survival rates, species mix, carbon outcomes and community participation. |
| Fragmented governance across programmes (watersheds, agroforestry, CAMPA) | Integrate GIM with agroforestry, watershed schemes and CAMPA through unified planning cells at district/state levels. |
Conclusion
The revised Green India Mission is a timely, ambitious framework that moves India from area-based planting targets toward ecologically robust, community-led restoration. Success depends on aligning science, local rights, financing and institutional capacity. If implemented with rigour and inclusion, India can build resilient forests that deliver climate, livelihood and biodiversity benefits.
| EnsureIAS Mains Question Q. Critically examine the revised Green India Mission’s approach to forest restoration. How can India ensure that restoration delivers both robust carbon sinks and sustained livelihoods for forest-dependent communities? (250 Words) |
| EnsureIAS Prelims Question Consider the following statements: 1. The revised Green India Mission aims to restore 25 million hectares of degraded forest and non-forest land by 2030. 2. The Forest Rights Act (2006) removes the requirement of community consent for afforestation projects on forest lands. 3. The Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA) can be used to finance participatory planning and adaptive management under the revised GIM. How many of the following statements are correct? Answer: c) 1 and 3 only Explanations: Statement 2 is incorrect: The Forest Rights Act (2006) recognises and secures community rights over forest land and requires that community claims and consent be respected. It does not remove the requirement for community involvement; rather, it legally empowers local self-determination in forest governance. Statement 3 is correct: While CAMPA funds have been used primarily for afforestation, reforms and the revised mission encourage smarter use of CAMPA, including financing participatory planning and adaptive management. Realising this requires policy changes and focussed utilisation to support community-led restoration and monitoring. |
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