New Delhi: A draft of the national mission for green India, which aims to increase forest cover across the country to serve as "carbon sinks" removing green house gases has been released by the government.

The mission, which is one of the eight under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, aims at increasing green house gas removal by India's forests to 6.35 per cent of the country's total emissions by 2020.

"Recognising that climate change phenomena will seriously affect and alter the distribution, type and quality of natural resources of the country and the associated livelihoods of the people, the mission aims at addressing climate change by enhancing carbon sinks, adaptation of vulnerable species and forest dependant local communities in the face of climatic variability," the draft mission said.

This will be done through increasing and restoring the forest cover all over the country. It also aims at monitoring additional parameters like ground cover, soil condition, erosion and infiltration, run-off, ground water levels to develop water budgets as well as biomass monitoring indicators.

"Gram Sabha and its various committees would be strengthened as institutions of decentralized forest governance," the draft said.

The mission will be finalised after a series of public consultations to be undertaken across the country.
—iGovernment Bureau