Forest & Biodiversity

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.

forest

NEW IN FOREST & BIODIVERSITY

  • forest wood

    Article

    Rehabilitation services at RMP for converting red mud dump yard into green cover

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  • village-community
     

    Article

    Carbon finance is a way to conserve India's tigers and their habitat

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  • nagaland biodiversity

    PUBLICATION

    A Tradition in Transition: Understanding the Role of Shifting Cultivation for Sustainable Development of Northeast India

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  • nagaland hunter

    Article

    Firewood Consumption and Forest Degradation in Himalayan states: A Review of Research Gaps

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  • Social Impact Assessment

    Opinion

    To maintain sustainability, gram sabhas have to be empowered

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Projects

Survey

Meghalaya Traditional Knowledge Portal

land degradation

Study on Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) in India

OTBL

OTBL Campus Impact Challenge: A Youth Initiative for Creating Positive Spaces

afforestation

Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism study under Uttar Pradesh Participatory Forest Management and Poverty Alleviation Project

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Articles

India’s Green Diplomacy Could Be Its Biggest Soft Power Tool Yet

Dr T P Singh

Natural resource conservation isn’t just an environmental concern; it’s a geopolitical one.

Echoes of the Urban Forest: Reclaiming Green in India’s Urban Cities

Mr Aniruddh Soni

The rapid growth of major cities and state capitals in India has led to an increased demand for housing, commercial spaces, and infrastructure.

Seagrass Meadows – The Emerging Carbon Sink

Dr Syed Arif Wali
,
Dr Jitendra Vir Sharma

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.

TERI Conducts Carbon Stock Assessment Fieldwork in Mehsana District, Gujarat

Critically Endangered Forest Owlet: Under Threat from Habitat Loss

Forest owlets are an endemic species to India. They are found only in small pockets of forest patches in India, and nowhere else in the world. The species were thought to be extinct, until a group of scientists rediscovered the species, and then started working on them. The forest owlets are threatened by severe habitat loss and development projects, apart from changes in climate. Sharada Balasubramanian writes about the birds, their rediscovery and how their habitat is threatened by ancient climate change and landscape modification.

Rajaji National Park: A Biodiversity-rich Landscape in the Lap of River Ganga

Rajaji National Park is a magnificent ecosystem nestled in the Shivalik range and the beginning of the vast Indo-Gangetic Plains, representing rich floral and faunal diversity. The Park constitutes an important repository of the wild fauna and the last refuge of a number of threatened animal species in the lesser Himalayan zone and upper Gangetic plains. Considering the abundance of nature's bounties heaped in and around the Park, the area attracts a large number of wildlife conservationists, nature lovers, and eco-tourists.

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Events

Breaking the REDD + Deadlock: Towards India-Specific Guidelines for Carbon Finance in Degradation-Dominated Forests

July 11, 2025
to July 11, 2025

India’s forest landscapes are highly diverse, spanning tropical rainforests, dry deciduous zones, and alpine ecosystems. Unlike many countries where deforestation is the primary concern, forest degradation due to overgrazing, firewood extraction, invasive species, and unsustainable tourism is more prevalent across India’s forest cover.

TERI signs an MOU with Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal

June 23, 2025
to June 23, 2025

TERI and IIFM (Indian Institute for Forest management, Bhopal) have entered an MOU, which was signed by Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General, TERI and Dr K Ravichandran, Director, IIFM. The event took place on 23 June 2025 at the TERI's office in India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Restoring Degraded Forest Landscapes: India's Approach to Sustainable Forest Management and Climate Resilience

May 5, 2025
to May 9, 2025

TERI and MOEFCC jointly organised a side event at the 20th session of the UN Forum on Forests on 6th May 2025, which is being held at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, United States, from 5-9 May 2025. The topic of the event was "Restoring Degraded Forest Landscapes: India's Approach to Sustainable Forest Management and Climate Resilience".

WSDS 2025 Thematic Track-Investing in Nature: Financing Forest Landscape Restoration in India

March 5, 2025
to March 5, 2025

In India, 32% of the land is degraded, and 25% is undergoing desertification, impacting agricultural systems (FAO, 2024). The potential for forest landscape restoration in India is both vast and essential. It is crucial for achieving the national forest and tree cover target of 33% (National Forest Policy, 1988) and fulfilling international climate commitments.

WSDS 2025 Thematic Track -Context-Specific Carbon Finance Standards Aligning with India's Agroforestry Potential

March 5, 2025
to March 5, 2025

Introduction

Agroforestry in India offers transformative potential for climate mitigation, sustainable rural development, and farmer livelihood enhancement. Currently, agroforestry contributes 19.3% of India’s carbon stocks and has the potential to sequester over 2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030. With over 86.1% of farmers classified as small and marginal, aligning carbon finance standards with India's unique agroforestry practices and landholding structures is essential.

Tata Projects delegation visit at TERI Gwal Pahari Campus

August 9, 2024
to August 9, 2024

On August 9, 2024, TERI welcomed Tata Projects’ delegation to its Gwal Pahari Campus for a comprehensive overview of TERI’s research work and sustainable practices. The visit aimed to align with Tata Projects’ sustainability goals and Tata Group’s Aalingana initiative, which is the north star of Tata Group’s sustainability journey.

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News

Global REDD+ standards fail local forests

August 20, 2025
| Mr Sayanta Ghosh
,
| Dr Jitendra Vir Sharma
| Mongabay India

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.

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Training workshop on forest and climate change held at SKUAST-K

August 6, 2025 |
August 6, 2025
Rising Kashmir

The Land Resources Division of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), with support from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, held a three-day training workshop titled "Forest and Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges of Adaptation and Mitigation" at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K).

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Manipur: Consultative Workshop on Eco-Tourism held in Tamenglong to Promote Sustainable Development

April 11, 2025 |
April 14, 2025
Northeast Today

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in collaboration with the Forest Department, Government of Manipur will implement carbon financing projects in the region to further enhance environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Manipur: Consultative Workshop on Eco-Tourism held in Tamenglong to Promote Sus…

Assam: Consultation Program Held in Udalguri, TERI Chief Urges Preservation of Native Crop Varieties

April 1, 2025 |
April 1, 2025
The Sentinel Assam

During a recent stakeholder consultation in Udalguri, Assam, Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), underscored the critical need to preserve and cultivate high-yielding native crop varieties.

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TERI, ICIMOD, Balipara Foundation & Gauhati University Sign MoU to Strengthen Biodiversity Conservation, Cultural Preservation & Ecosystem Valuation

March 27, 2025 |
March 27, 2025
Prag News

The MoU lays the foundation for integrating scientific research, indigenous knowledge, and grassroots action into conservation and sustainable development. The collaboration will focus on the preservation of culture and indigenous knowledge through documentation and revival of traditional languages and conservation practices.

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Sustainability education in Ludhiana: How TSF-TERI Green School Workshop is empowering teachers

December 26, 2024 |
December 26, 2024
Construction Week

'The Green School,' an initiative that aims to combine the efforts of the Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to increase environmental awareness among school pupils and increase their knowledge in this field. This initiative, which was initiated in April 2017, aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of environmental preservation, interdisciplinary learning, and critical thinking among students in Tata Steel's operational areas.

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Policy

Biodiversity and Land Restoration in India: A Narrative of India's Sustainability Efforts Vis-à-vis the World

November 12, 2024
    

Meeting the challenges of human-wildlife conflict reconciliation in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

February 6, 2020

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.

Carbon finance: Solution for mitigating human–wildlife conflict in and around critical tiger habitats of India

January 29, 2020

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.

Minimum Support Price of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and Its Sustainable Harvest: A Social Safety Measure for MFP Collectors in India

February 15, 2018

Forests in India are treated primarily as social and environmental resource, and only secondarily, as commercial resource. More than 300 million people derive full or partial livelihood and sustenance need from forests. Many a times, communities are compelled to harvest forest produce unsustainably due to lack of adequate finance to meet their day to day life supporting needs. With such large population dependent on forest resources, the minor forest produce (MFP) sector is India’s largest unorganized sector.

Persistent organic pollutants in Indian environment: a wake-up call for concerted action

January 11, 2018

India has a comprehensive apparatus of environmental laws. However, the lack of an integrated approach to the regulation of chemicals, poor management of pollution, and the fundamentally retrospective vision have resulted in ineffective implementation of the laws as demonstrated by the example of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the environment.

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Services

Carbon sequestration potential and biodiversity assessment

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.

Capacity building for management of natural resources

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.

Team

Mr Shailesh Ganeshrao Tembhurnikar

Distinguished Fellow, Land Resources

Dr Jitendra Vir Sharma

Senior Director, Water Waste and Natural Resources

Dr Syed Arif Wali

Associate Director, Centre for Sustainable Land Management

Mr Varun Grover

Area Convenor, Sustainable Services Management

Mr Sayanta Ghosh

Area Convenor, Centre for Geospatial Technology Application

Ms Neha Sharma

Area Convener, Centre for Forest Management and Governance

Mr Pranjul Chauhan

Area Convenor, Centre for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services