GREEN CREDIT PROGRAMME (GCP)

NEWS: The Union Government identifies 4,391 hectares of degraded forest land across multiple states for eco-restoration under the Green Credit Programme.

ABOUT

• First-of-a-kind market-based instrument designed to incentivise individuals, industries and local bodies for their voluntary environmental actions across different sectors.
• Central Sector Programme launched in 2023.
• To incentivise environmentally positive actions through the issuance of Green Credits, thereby promoting the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) Movement.
• Notified through – Green Credit Rules, 2023 under the Environment Protection Act 1986.

Objectives 

• Increase green cover & restore degraded forest lands.
• Enhances carbon sequestration & promote eco-restoration and afforestation.
• Encourage environment-friendly technologies and reduce carbon footprint through sustainable lifestyle changes.
• Nodal MinistryàMinistry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Administrator – Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), responsible for implementation, management, monitoring, and operation.
• 8 activitiesàTree plantation, Water conservation, Sustainable agriculture, Waste management, Air pollution reduction, Mangrove conservation and restoration, Ecomark (a government scheme to identify environment-friendly products), Sustainable building and infrastructure.

Features

• Green Credit Portal àA dedicated digital platform has been created for registration, monitoring, and issuance of Credits.
• Green Creditsàissued to participants for ecological restoration; they can be used for compliance or sold to another entity.
• Creditsàgenerated through tree plantation & eco-restoration of degraded forest lands.
• Afforestation must involve a mixture of indigenous tree species suitable for the local ecological conditions.
• Credits can be claimed only after 5 years of restoration and achieving a minimum canopy density of 40%

Category

• Very Dense Forestà >70% (Canopy Density)
• Moderately Dense Forestà 40–70%
• Open Forestà10–40%

Land Identification

State Forest Departments identify degraded forest land parcels & verification by the Divisional Nodal Officer (DNO) and the State Nodal Officer (SNO) confirms suitability.

Conditions

• Land should not already be under a plantation.
• Land must not be earmarked for other afforestation schemes (e.g., compensatory afforestation) to avoid double-counting