NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has issued a new notification regarding the methodology for calculating Green Credit through the planting of trees and establishing a canopy on wasteland. This notification supersedes the previous year notification concerning the calculation of Green Credit.
It states that Green Credit will be accounted for after the plantation of trees on a designated area of wasteland that achieves a minimum canopy density of 40 per cent. This assessment will take place five years after the plantation, which can be conducted by any organisation or entity.
The previous notification, issued in February 2024, only referred to tree plantation on identified degraded waste land.
"On completion of minimum five years of restoration activities in the degraded forest land parcel, and after achieving a minimum canopy density of forty per cent (40 per cent canopy density), the applicant shall be eligible to submit a claim report for award of Green Credit," the new notification specifies.
Besides, the notification indicates that "Green Credit will be calculated based on the vegetation status, including changes in canopy density and the number of surviving trees." According to the rules, trees grown through the plantation on the identified land must reach a minimum density of 1,100 trees per hectare. The new notification strengthens the previous rule by stating that credit will also be calculated based on canopy density and the survival rate of the trees.
In October 2023, the government launched the Green Credit Programme, a market-based incentive system designed to encourage individuals, organizations and industries to engage in various environmentally positive actions aimed at reducing carbon emissions, improving air and water quality and increasing biodiversity. This credit program was established in the context of India's commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2070, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.
Furthermore, the government has notified the Green Credit Rule 2024 to promote large-scale commercial activities involving plantation on degraded forest land. However, some experts view this rule as unscientific and potentially harmful to forest ecology. They highlight that the term "degraded forest" is critical, yet there is currently no rule or law that defines a formula for identifying a degraded forest.