Green credit program
Green credits are certificates awarded to individuals and entities for undertaking environment-friendly activities. The Green Credit Program (GCP) was launched in October 2023 as a market-based mechanism to encourage voluntary actions for environmental conservation. The program aims to incentivize individuals, organizations, and companies to invest in sectors
The GCP aims to generate tradable green credits for these activities. The Administrator determines the formula for calculating green credits based on the equivalent use of resources, size, scope, and other relevant factors required to achieve the intended environmental result. The Administrator also creates and manages a trading platform where green credits can be bought and sold.
Aim : to incentivise eco friendly activities a market based system develops.
The environment ministry has identified eight select activities under the the environment (protection) act, 1986 for which green credit can be earned such as :
tree plantation
Water conservation
Water harvesting / water use efficiency
Promoting natural and regenerative agricultural practices
Waste management
Air pollution reduction
Mangrove conservation and restoration in
Ecomark based green credit and construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technology and materials.
MoEFCC notified the draft Green Credit Programme implementation rules 2023. Under this individuals, industries , farmers producers organisations (FPO), urban local bodies, gram panchayats and private sectors will be earning green credits for undertaking environment friendly actions.
The green credits will be tradable in the domestic market platform.
However, the entities will also be made to pay environmental compensation for violations of the provisions contained in the notifications. The compensation will be collected in a separate account utilized for market stabilization and other activities to implement green credits schemes.
Who will be governing the green credits scheme ?
A steering committee headed by the environment secretary will govern the implementation of GCP, the committee will approve procedures for institutionalizing the GCP, approves its rules and regulations and make recommendations to government for issuance of green credit certificates
The Indian council of forestry research and education will be the administrator of GCP and will manage, monitor and operate the entire programme. It will register the green credits and maintain the records of transactions. The technical committee will decide the value of green credits to be awarded, I FRE will issue guidelines for the establishment of trading platforms
Outcomes of the GCP
Enhance India's forest and tree cover.
Build an inventory of degraded land suitable for plantation.
Encourage pro-planet actions by rewarding green credits.
Impact of GCR on Indian Forests:
States must afforest land to compensate for diverted forests, under the 2023 amendment.
GCR allows green credits to meet compensatory afforestation (CA) obligations, focusing only on plantations.
GCR promotes tree planting on degraded lands, including unique ecosystems, labeled as wastelands.
Problems with the GCR
GCR lacks emphasis on planting diverse native species and involves industry in raising plantations.
It signals a return to a revenue-centric vision for India's forests, undermining decades of conservation efforts.
The GCRs fail to mention local communities or their rights over forests, which the Forest Rights Act (FRA) guarantees. The 2022 Rules of the FCA eliminated the need for consent from the Gram Sabha for forest diversion.
Misleading Criteria and Misclassification:
Canopy closure {Open canopies (densities <40%) or Scrub (<10%)} is used as the sole indicator of ecological worth, misclassifying many non-forest ecosystems.
Ecosystems like grasslands and deserts are misclassified as degraded lands needing afforestation.
Grasslands and deserts support a high density of mammals and 500 million livestock and are also important for below-ground carbon sequestration.
Tree-covered Wastelands
Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs) are often labelled as wastelands, making them prone to tree planting.
ONEs envelop sand dunes, grasslands and thorn scrub of the Thar, and the savanna grasslands and open woody savannas of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
Planting trees on these lands could harm their unique biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Questionable Forest Cover and Afforestation
India's reported forest cover includes orchards, parks, and plantations.
Studies suggest plantations do not provide the same ecosystem services as natural forests.
Regrowing natural forests is more effective for carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
Compensatory Afforestation (CA) Track Record
CA programs suffer from poor survival rates and a lack of local community involvement despite the availability of more than 50,000 crores.
Almost 60% of the CA funds remain unspent.
Plantations often fail to simulate natural forests and address the drivers of degradation.
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