Overview

Around the world, healthy forests provide food, jobs, clean water, and resilience to climate-related shocks, while storing carbon. One in four people in India depend directly on forests for sustenance. However, more than 40 percent of India’s forests are degraded, and this impacts the flow of forest goods and services that are critical for inclusive economic growth.

Highlight

USAID helped to develop a mobile application and web portal, aptly named Van (forests in Hindi) to aid in the preparation of forest management plans. First piloted one Forest Division, the Van system has been scaled for use in 31 forest divisions in Telangana.

USAID Tackles Climate Change Through Forestry Programs:

USAID is improving the rehabilitation and management of more than one million hectares of India’s forests. These better managed forests pull more carbon out of the air, enhance water yields, and improve livelihoods for indigenous and tribal communities. With a quarter of India’s population dependent on forests, support for these communities is critical not only to combat climate change, but advance inclusive development and economic growth for communities in rural areas.

USAID Leads Forestry Pillar of the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue:

USAID/India’s forestry activities support important priorities of U.S. and Indian governments, contributing to the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue of the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership. The forestry pillar of the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue, led by USAID, will strengthen U.S-India collaboration on nature-based solutions, with a focus on managing forests to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon sequestration.

USAID Transforms Management of Forests:

USAID’s Forest-PLUS 2.0 program, which is a five-year joint program with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. Forest-PLUS 2.0 works in Bihar, Kerala, and Telangana to manage forests, which are an important component of broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth that meets local needs and addresses global environmental challenges.