'Restoration Opportunities Atlas' launched, can help in planning improvement in forest cover

A 'Restoration Opportunities Atlas' that can help in planning improvement in forest and tree cover in the country was launched on Monday by a research organisation.

The web-based platform aims to support policy makers combat climate change through tree-based interventions in India.

"India has tremendous potential for tree-based action. The Restoration Opportunities Atlas begins to address information gaps, compiles information from various sources and simplifies it to support decision-making," said Dr Rohini Chaturvedi, Director, Sustainable Landscape and Restoration Programme at WRI India. The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research organisation and focuses on environment and development. Its work spans over 50 countries, including India.

The atlas brings together information relevant for India's nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, which includes a commitment to sequester additional 2.5-3 billion tons of carbon dioxide. It also ties with the Bonn Challenge commitment under which the country will need to restore 21 million hectare of deforested and degraded land by 2030, said WRI India technical note.

It said results from the atlas show that India can achieve the NDC and the Bonn Challenge through forest protection and landscape restoration.

The map identifies areas for protection, wide scale restoration, and mosaic restoration. It estimates potential for increase in forest and tree cover and the the associated carbon sequestration that can be achieved.

The atlas was developed over 18 months period by a team of experts, including Chaturvedi, under the guidance of a technical working group, said WRI India.

"The Restoration Opportunities Atlas gives a good baseline indicating where we are today in terms of forest restoration and our national level targets," said Moutushi Sengupta, India Director, MacArthur Foundation.