PODCAST: Using Technology to Support Tree-Based Climate Action in India

Protecting and improving India’s forests and extending tree cover outside forests in an important approach to achieving India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Official estimates suggest that in order for this to happen, it is imperative not only to protect and improve existing forest cover, but to also extend tree cover in close to 30 million hectares. In this podcast, Rohini Chaturvedi, Former Director of WRI's Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration work in India, speaks to Divya Kottadiel about a unique new tool, the Restoration Opportunities Atlas for India, a first-of-its-kind interactive, web-based platform to support tree-based climate action in India. This platform brings together data and analysis to answer three key questions:

• Where can forest and tree cover be protected and increased, and how much carbon sequestration will this result in?
• Which tree-based restoration interventions have been implemented in different states, and who are the principal actors who have implemented these projects?
• And finally, what necessary enabling conditions need to be in place, and what risks need to be addressed in order to ensure that our protection and restoration goals are met?

For more information, please reach out to Dr. Ruchika Singh, Interim Director, Sustainable Landscapes and Restoration, WRI India.