Why in News?

The Centre released a revised roadmap for the National Mission for Green India (GIM).

The updated plan emphasizes not just increasing and restoring forest and green cover, but also focuses on ecological restoration in critical regions such as the Aravalli ranges, Western Ghats, Himalayas, and mangroves.

 The revised GIM will also address land degradation and desertification, expanding its role in building environmental resilience.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Achievements of the Green India Mission (GIM)
• Revised Green India Mission: Key Highlights
• Revised Green India Mission: Strategy to Combat Land Degradation and Desertification

Achievements of the Green India Mission (GIM)

• Background
  • Launched in 2014 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), the Green India Mission aims to:
    • Increase forest and tree cover on 5 million hectares
    • Improve the quality of forest cover on another 5 million hectares
    • Restore degraded ecosystems and enhance livelihoods of forest-dependent communities
• Afforestation Progress
• From 2015-16 to 2020-21, the mission supported tree plantation and afforestation across 11.22 million hectares through various central and state schemes.
• Funding and Utilisation
  • Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, the Centre allocated ₹624.71 crore to 18 states for GIM-related interventions, of which ₹575.55 crore has been utilised.
• Targeted Implementation
  • GIM activities are prioritized in states based on:
    • Ecological vulnerability
    • Carbon sequestration potential
    • Forest and land degradation levels
    • Restoration potential

Revised GIM: Key Highlights

• Need for Revision
  • The Green India Mission (GIM) roadmap has been revised based on:
    • Ground-level climate impacts
    • Feedback from implementing partner states
    • Recommendations from scientific institutions
    • The updated plan adopts a region-specific, ecologically tailored approach.
• Focus on Vulnerable Landscapes
• The revised mission prioritizes restoration and saturation of vulnerable landscapes, including:
  • Aravalli ranges
  • Western Ghats
  • Indian Himalayas
  • Mangrove ecosystems
• Best practices will be adapted to local ecological conditions for effective restoration.
• GIM Integration with Aravalli Green Wall Project
  • Centre’s Aravalli Green Wall Project aims to:
    • Combat degradation and desertification
    • Close 12 ecological gaps contributing to dust storms in Delhi-NCR and Punjab
    • Initially restore 8 lakh hectares across 29 districts and 4 states
    • Use native plant species, restore grasslands, forests, and water systems
  • Estimated cost: ₹16,053 crore
  • Aim: Create a 5-km buffer zone covering 6.45 million hectares
• Action in the Western Ghats
  • In the Western Ghats, GIM will focus on: Afforestation efforts; Groundwater recharge; Eco-restoration of abandoned mining zones.
  • This is in response to threats from deforestation, degradation, and illegal mining.
• The revised roadmap reflects a strategic, region-sensitive approach to ecological restoration and climate resilience.

Revised GIM: Strategy to Combat Land Degradation and Desertification

• Scale of the Challenge
  • According to ISRO’s Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas, about 97.85 million hectares (one-third of India’s land) faced degradation in 2018–19.
• National Climate Commitment
  • India has pledged to:
    • Create an additional carbon sink of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2030 through increased forest and tree cover
    • Restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 under its international climate commitments (UNFCCC)
• Role of Natural Ecosystems
  • Natural carbon sinks—forests, wetlands, grasslands, and mountain ecologies—will help:
    • Absorb greenhouse gas emissions
    • Act as natural buffers against the impacts of climate change
• Contributions So Far
• Between 2005 and 2021, India created an additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, as per a statement in the Lok Sabha.
• Focus on Restoring Open Forests
  • The revised GIM identifies impaired open forests as key areas for restoration:
    • Cost-effective and high-impact for carbon sequestration
    • Forest Survey of India (FSI) estimates this strategy alone could sequester 1.89 billion tonnes of CO₂ across 15 million hectares.
• Target for Expanded Tree Cover
  • By integrating ongoing schemes and boosting afforestation:
    • GIM could expand forest and tree cover to 24.7 million hectares
    • This could generate a carbon sink of 3.39 billion tonnes CO₂ by 2030, exceeding India’s climate targets
  • In essence, the revised GIM aligns ecological restoration with India’s climate goals, making forests a cornerstone in the fight against land degradation and global warming.