US$10 billion approved for Indian forests

As part of India's official reforestation plans know as the NMGI (National Plan for a Green India) the government there recently committed US$10 billion to extend the surface area of forest cover by a further 5 million hectares (more than 12 million acres) and, at the same time, improve the quality of forests of a similar sized area.

This commitment dovetails well with India's carbon sequestration goals. Calculations are that the extended and improved forests will absorb 50-60 millions tons of CO² annually, around 6% of India's growing carbon emissions.

Launching this new initiative during the UN's International Year of Forests is timely, not least since Indian forest cover has decreased by almost 250,000 hectares since 1990. However, the country still possesses around 10 million hectares of primary growth forest. The vast areas involved make management and monitoring of forests a complex operation. The Indian government suggests that they will use satellites to keep track of progress.

Main source:  www.mongabay.com  

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