Syllabus: 

GS3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Context: 

Recently, a revised roadmap for the National Mission for Green India, also known as the Green India Mission (GIM), has been released. 

More on the News 

• Besides boosting forest cover, the mission will prioritise restoration in the Aravallis, Western Ghats, Himalayas and mangroves.
• GIM is central to India’s climate strategy, with a revised focus on forest cover, land degradation and desertification.

Green India Mission (GIM) 

• GIM was rolled out in 2014 as one of the eight missions under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). 
• Its core aim is to combat climate change by increasing forest and tree cover, and the ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems and forests. 
• It also aims to boost forest-based livelihoods and targets increasing forest cover on 5 million hectares, while improving another 5 million hectares.

Achievement of the Green India Mission:

• Between 2015-16 and 2020-21, the mission facilitated tree plantation and afforestation activities across 11.22 million hectares (mha) of land, through central and state schemes.
• Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the Centre released Rs 624.71 crore to 18 states for interventions under GIM and Rs 575.55 crore has been utilised. 

• Activities under GIM are concentrated in states based on mapping of ecological vulnerability, potential for sequestration (the process by which plants and trees store carbon using photosynthesis), forest and land degradation, and restoration potential.

Revised Green India Mission (GIM)

• The Green India Mission document was revised to account for on-ground climate impacts and feedback received from implementing partner states and scientific institutions.
• A central focus of the revised mission plan will be on the restoration and saturation of vulnerable landscapes through regionally conducive best practices.
• The plan includes area-specific restoration in the Aravallis, Western Ghats, Himalayas and mangrove ecosystems.
• GIM efforts will align with the Aravalli Green Wall project, launched to combat degradation and desertification in the ancient Aravalli range, a natural shield against the Thar Desert.
• In the Western Ghats, where degradation, deforestation, and illegal mining are prevalent, the GIM will push to conserve through afforestation, groundwater recharge, and eco-restoration of abandoned mining areas.

Land Degradation and Desertification

• As per ISRO’s Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas, about one-third of India’s land, around 97.85 million hectares, was degraded in 2018-19. 
• India aims to create a carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes CO₂ by 2030 through increased forest and tree cover, as pledged to the UNFCCC.
• Forests, grasslands, wetlands, and mountain ecosystems are natural carbon sinks. 
• These ecosystems act like sponges, soaking up carbon and serve as natural barriers against climate-related disasters. 
• India plans to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, supported by GIM and projects like the Green Wall. Between 2005 and 2021, it created an additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes CO₂ equivalent.
• Restoring open forests is a key, cost-effective way to sequester CO₂, with the potential to capture 1.89 billion tonnes over 15 million hectares, says FSI. 
• With aligned schemes and stronger afforestation, forest cover could reach 24.7 million hectares, creating a carbon sink of 3.39 billion tonnes by 2030.

Mains Practice question

Restoration of degraded ecosystems through missions like the Green India Mission is central to India's climate strategy. Discuss the objectives, achievements and challenges of the Green India Mission in light of India's land degradation and carbon sink targets. (15M, 250W)