TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Environment Ministry issued further guidelines on its Green Credit Programme (GCP), two months after it had prescribed rules governing the first initiative, afforestation.
EXPLANATION:
Green Credit Programme (GCP):
- Green Credit Program (GCP) has been notified on 13th October 2023.
- The Green Credits Programme (GCP) is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in India.
- It is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivize voluntary environmental actions by generating and trading green credits across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders like individuals, communities, companies etc.
- Green credits are tradable units that represent a specified environmental activity and its positive impact on the environment.
- The GCP’s governance framework is supported by an inter-ministerial Steering Committee.
- The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) serves as the GCP Administrator, responsible for program implementation, management, monitoring, and operation.
- In its initial phase, the GCP focuses on two key activities:
- Water conservation and
- Afforestation
- Draft methodologies for awarding Green Credits have been developed and will be notified for stakeholder consultation.
- These methodologies set benchmarks for each activity/process, to ensure environmental impact and fungibility across sectors.
- The Green Credit Registry and trading platform, being developed by ICFRE along with experts, would facilitate the registration and thereafter, the buying and selling of Green Credits.
- The Administrator will grant a Green Credit certificate which will be tradable on the green credit platform.
Afforestation Initiative
- Under the GCP, companies, organizations, and individuals can finance afforestation projects in specific degraded forest areas.
- The State forest departments carry out the tree planting, with the ICFRE evaluating the projects.
- After two years, each planted tree may be worth one green credit. Thirteen State Forest departments have offered nearly 10,983 hectares of degraded forest land for afforestation projects.
Participation and Investment
- Several public sector companies, including Indian Oil, Power Grid Corporation of India, National Thermal Power Corporation, Oil India, Coal India, and National Hydropower Corporation, have registered to invest in the GCP.
- However, the program has raised concerns and criticisms.
Controversies Surrounding GCP
- Critics have raised several concerns about the GCP.
- Firstly, there are apprehensions that it commodifies environmental conservation, potentially undermining existing forest conservation laws.
- Some fear that it might serve as a loophole for industries involved in forest diversion for non-forestry purposes.
- Secondly, there are doubts about the effectiveness of afforestation efforts in promoting ecosystem restoration, as planting inappropriate tree species could lead to invasive species proliferation or disrupt sustainable ecosystems.
- Additionally, the integration of carbon trading into the program raises questions about the clarity of mathematical models equating carbon storage with afforestation efforts.
Government Response and Guidelines
- In response to criticisms, the Ministry has issued guidelines for States to calculate the costs of restoring degraded forest landscapes.
- Notably, the requirement of a minimum of 1,100 trees per hectare for reforestation has been revised to accommodate variations in forest conditions.
- States are now empowered to specify suitable vegetation, including shrubs, herbs, and grasses, for ecosystem restoration.
- Preference is given to indigenous species, although quantifying the contribution of shrubs and grasses to green credits is still being refined.
- Furthermore, the Ministry clarified that companies cannot fully offset their compensatory afforestation obligations using green credits but can only claim a portion.