Launch Event: Restoration Opportunities Atlas for India

The Restoration Opportunities Atlas, a first-of-its-kind interactive, web-based platform to support tree-based climate action in India, will be launched by WRI India on 10 September 2018.

Protecting forests from degradation, deforestation and fragmentation, and tree-based landscape restoration, are globally recognised as cost-effective solutions for combatting climate change. These form the bedrock of several countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 15 (Life on Land).

India’s NDC commits to sequestering an additional 2.5 to 3 billion tons CO2 equivalent by 2030 through increased forest and tree cover. Official estimates suggest that this commitment can only be achieved if existing forests are protected and improved, and tree cover is extended by 25-30 million hectares.

As India plans its pathways to achieving this ambitious climate target, the Restoration Opportunities Atlas brings together best available data and rigorous analysis to answer three questions:
1. Where can forest and tree cover be protected and increased, and how much carbon sequestration will this result in?
2. Which tree-based interventions have been implemented in different states? Who are the principle actors who have implemented these projects?
3. What necessary enabling conditions need to be in place and risks addressed to ensure achievement of climate goals?

The Restoration Opportunities Atlas has been developed in partnership with leading experts and organizations in India, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Strand Life Sciences and Foundation for Ecological Security (FES). This Atlas will help policy makers and funders prioritise areas for climate action as well as plan actionable pathways for achieving climate goals.

The launch event for the Restoration Opportunities Atlas will include a high-level policy discussion on India’s forest sector NDC, with participants from government, private sector, and civil society.