News Excerpt:

A new government notification has allowed companies and individuals to utilize government land for tree plantation in order to generate green credits that can be used for reporting under environmental, social, and governance indicators or corporate social responsibility (CSR). 

Key provisions of the scheme:

• The Forest Department of each State and Union territory will identify degraded land parcels, including open forest and scrub land, wasteland, and catchment areas under their administrative control.
• These parcels will be designated for tree plantation by individuals or entities.
• While such an activity will help in increasing green cover across the country, it can also be used to generate Green Credit.
• Identified land parcels must be free from any encumbrances.
• Such land should also have a size of 5 hectares or more.
• Individuals or entities seeking to undertake tree plantation for Green Credit generation can apply to the Administrator.
• Applicants are required to pay charges for plantation and administrative fees.
• After all these formalities are over, the Administrator will direct the Forest Department to carry out tree plantation. 
• The entire process needs to be completed within a period of two years from the date of payment.
• The Green Credit shall be calculated at the rate of one Green Credit per tree grown through the tree plantation on such land parcel, subject to minimum density of 1100 trees per hectare, based on the local climatic and soil conditions, on the certification of completion of tree plantation provided by the Forest Department concerned.

Green Credit Program:

• Green Credit refers to a unit of an incentive provided for a specified activity, that is delivering a positive impact on the environment.
• The Green Credit Program was notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) in October, 2023.
• It is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivize voluntary environmental actions across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders like individuals, communities, private sector industries, and companies. 
• The GCP's governance framework is supported by an inter-ministerial Steering Committee and 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. 
• To obtain Green Credits, individuals and entities must register their activities through the central government's dedicated app/website.
• The Green Credit certificate that is granted under this programme will be tradable on the green credit platform.
• Tree plantation is one of eight activities notified to generate Green Credit.
  • Other activities include water management, sustainable agriculture, waste management, air pollution reduction and mangrove conservation and restoration among others.