Carbon-Based Forest Financing - One Week Refresher Training Course for IFS Officers
The five day refresher training course for IFS officers on, ‘Carbon based Forest Financing’ was organized by the Forestry and Biodiversity Group of TERI in association with Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India at the India Habitat Centre from 25 to 29 August 2014.
In his opening remarks, Mr AK Srivastava, Additional Director General of Forests, MoEF, emphasized the role of forests in providing various ecosystem services. He elaborated on different strategies and financial mechanisms to implement the CDM and REDD+ activities in the country. He suggested use of Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAMPA) funds for the implementation of Green India Mission and pilot REDD+ activities.
In the technical session, Dr Prodipto Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow & Director ESCC presented his views on application of Economic concepts to Carbon Financing projects. Mr Suresh Chauhan, Fellow TERI, Mr AK Lal, Executive Director Himachal Pradesh Mid Himalayan Watershed Development Project, Mr Rajive Kumar, Chief Project Director, JICA, UP and Dr Ashish Aggarwal, Fellow TERI presented the case studies on carbon forestry projects being implemented in Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana respectively. It was concluded that forestry CDM projects were complex and costly; hence it was difficulty to pursue them.
The technical sessions were followed by panel discussions on Status of CDM projects in India, Potential of Forests to mitigate GHG emissions, post CoP- 19 scenario related to REDD+. The panel was largely satisfied with ‘Warsaw REDD+ framework’ and expected that it will be much simpler and holistic as compared to CDM process.
Many other eminent speakers like Mr Subhash Chandra, DIG (Forest Policy), MoEF, Dr Jagdish Kishwan, Former ADG of Forests (Wildlife), Mr BMS Rathore, Joint Secretary MoEF and Dr Devendra Pandey, Former DG, gave a detailed presentation on Forest PLUS programme, National Mission on Climate Change, Green India Mission and Forest Resource Assessment.