Why in News?

• ·         Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released National Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation REDD+) strategy for India.
• ·         It aims at achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation.
• ·         This strategy will soon be communicated to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

REDD+ Strategy:

• In simple terms, REDD+ means “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation”, conservation of forest carbon stocks, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries.
• REDD+ aims to achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation.
• The strategy seeks to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and also developing a roadmap for enhancement of forest carbon stocks and achieving sustainable management of forests through REDD+ actions.
• The National REDD+ Strategy will soon be communicated to the UNFCCC.

Involving Tribal Cooperation:

• MoEFCC has emphasized that the cooperation and involvement of the tribals, other forest dwelling people and the society as a whole, is crucial for the implementation of the REDD+ strategy.
• India’s National REDD+ strategy is one of the tools to achieve   India’s commitment to Paris Agreement.
• The REDD+ strategy will help the country to fulfill its NDC commitments and will also contribute to the livelihood of the forest dependent population.

Governing under REDD+:

• A National Governing Council of REDD+ chaired by the Union Environment Minister at the national level and two technical committees are being established for supporting the REDD+ implementation in the country.
• The REDD+ actions at the State level will be coordinated by the committee headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HOFF) of the States.
• Paris agreement on climate change also recognizes role of forests in climate change mitigation and calls upon country Parties to take action to implement and support REDD+.

India’s NDC:

• India has communicated in its Nationally Determined Contribution under Paris Agreement, that it will capture 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbon dioxide through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
• India’s first biennial update report to UNFCCC has revealed that forests in India capture about 12% of India’s total GHG emissions.
• Thus, forestry sector in India is making a positive cost-effective contribution for climate change mitigation.
• Complying with the UNFCCC decisions on REDD+, India has prepared its National REDD+ Strategy.
• The strategy includes India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, Green India Mission and India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to UNFCCC.