Headquarters
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Darbari Seth Block, Core 6C,
India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi - 110 003, India
While, globally, it is the loss of forests that is a major issue, in India it is forest degradation that remains the biggest challenge. Our work focuses on promoting sustainable forest management, providing practical solutions towards generating finance through carbon trading from forests, and supporting the livelihood of forest dependent communities. We also work towards engaging communities for biodiversity conservation and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict through policy and scientific measures.
India’s forests are entering a decade of compounded risk. Longer dry spells, erratic rainfall, severe fire seasons, invasive spread, fragmentation and rising biomass pressure are no longer episodic concerns; they are structural realities.
Observed each year on 1 March, World Seagrass Day was officially designated by the United Nations General Assembly in May 2022 to highlight the critical importance of seagrass ecosystems for marine biodiversity and climate stability.
Blue carbon refers to the organic carbon captured and stored by coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. These habitats sequester excess CO₂ in their biomass and soil for centuries, playing a vital role in mitigating climate change while supporting coastal resilience and biodiversity.
Natural resource conservation isn’t just an environmental concern; it’s a geopolitical one.
The rapid growth of major cities and state capitals in India has led to an increased demand for housing, commercial spaces, and infrastructure.
Beneath the world’s marine waters lies a hidden champion in the fight against climate change - underwater meadows that capture carbon dioxide up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. These remarkable ecosystems are seagrasses, and as the world marks World Seagrass Day on March 1st, scientists are increasingly recognizing their crucial role in our planet's future.
WSDS 2026 Thematic Track: Action for the Aravallis: Advancing Restoration, Resilience, and Inclusive Growth will be held on 25 February 2026, 2:00–3:30 pm at Jehangir 2, Taj Palace, New Delhi. Curated by TERI and The Nature Conservancy (India) as a WSDS 2026 thematic track. It convenes representatives from MoEFCC, forest and line departments, public institutions, the private sector, and NGOs to accelerate ecological restoration across the Aravalli Range.
The Eastern Himalayan region connecting mountains, forests, rivers and mangroves faces escalating climate risks, biodiversity loss and land degradation. Addressing these challenges now requires more than isolated restoration and protection projects, it calls for Parivartan, a transformational shift in how landscapes are envisioned, governed and invested in.
In Haryana’s Panchkula Forest Division where over four lakhs of curry plants grow wild state policy officially treats them as economically worthless. This points to a glaring structural oversight, missing rural income opportunities, writes Dr Ronak Rohitkumar Gadhvi and Ms Neha Sharma, Associate Fellows, Land Resources Division, TERI.
Sessions on modern agricultural technologies added a future-oriented perspective to the programme. Mr Sayanta Ghosh, Associate Fellow, Land Resources Division, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, spoke on carbon revenue mechanisms and digital MRV pathways.
SC's Aravalli ruling offers a science-led path to balance mining, restoration and livelihoods, writes Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI.
The Supreme Court's recent order offers a new framework for the Aravalli range. With guidelines now in place, the task ahead lies in transparent implementation, institutional coordination and sustained scientific oversight, writes Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI.
Biodiversity credits are financial instruments designed to channel funding from individuals and companies towards the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity-rich areas write Mr Sayanta Ghosh, Associate Fellow and Dr Jitendra Vir Sharma, Senior Director, Land Resources Division, TERI.
Unlocking India’s REDD+ potential would channel climate finance into one of the most diverse forest estates, benefiting millions of forest-dependent people and meeting climate goals, write Mr Sayanta Ghosh, Associate Fellow and Dr Jitendra Vir Sharma, Senior Director, Land Resources Division, TERI.
This report presents an evaluation of the concept of Compensatory Afforestation and its implementation across various states in India,
TERI, in partnership with Ernst & Young LLP, conducted a comprehensive study for the Bangladesh Forest Department as part of the Sustainable Forest and Livelihoods (SUFAL) Project. This study developed a robust framework for valuing ecosystem services and natural wealth accounting in three critical forest sites: Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, Modhupur National Park, and Ramgarh-Sitakunda Reserved Forests.
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) leads to the bearing of direct as well as indirect economic costs of conflict by the communities. Such losses can seriously dent the incomes of concerned community members and result in increased antagonism towards conservation in general.
Our study in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh indicates to the fact that use of Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) approach to generate carbon finance can yield 8 times more finance than just considering the aspect of carbon sequestration.
We undertake study for companies to estimate the carbon sink and other co-benefits including the biodiversity conservation from the plantation activities carried out in and around the companies premises.
We undertake work on various institutional issues relating to participatory forest management, and have major interests in the study of forest-based livelihoods and benefit-sharing at the community level.