US and India launch “Trees Outside Forests in India” initiative to increase tree coverage in India

Tags: National

The United State Embassy in India has announced on 9 September 2022 that the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has signed an agreement to launch a new programme “Trees Outside Forests in India”.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Aim of the programme :

• The aim of the programme is to increase tree coverage outside forest land in India in a bid to support global climate change mitigation and adaptation goals.
• It aims to expand tree coverage outside of traditional forests by 28 lakh hectares.
• The total fund for the programme is USD 25 million. It will be given by the USAID. 

Who and where it will be implemented :

• The programme will be implemented by a consortium led by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry.
• The program will be implemented in seven states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Forest in India :

• According to the India State of Forest Report 2021’ prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) the total forest and tree cover of the country is 80.9 million hectares which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country. 
• Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
• Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change: Bhupender Yadav