New study quantifies the impact of tree planting programs on recent tree cover change in India
India’s tree cover targets cannot be met without significant increases in tree cover on agricultural lands. India has some of the world’s largest tree-planting, social security, and agricultural support programs that involve tree-planting. Despite large investments in these programs, there is little research about their environmental impacts.
A new study in Environmental Research Communications, “Variable linkages between afforestation programs and tree cover outside of forests in India” finds that there is substantial variation in impact on tree cover across programs. Spriha Pandey, the lead author says, “As India tries to leverage policies and programs to increase their tree cover and meet climate mitigation targets, it is important to measure their efficacy in meeting the tree cover goals and correct course where necessary.” The study examined eight major government policies/ programs (including schemes such as the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, the Sub-Mission on Agroforestry and the National Afforestation Programme) aimed at promoting trees on farmlands and other non-forest lands. The authors measured the association between program/policy funding from 2013 to 2019 with tree cover change after four years following expenditures (2017–2023) across three complementary datasets of tree cover at different spatial resolutions that capture not only large patches of trees but also scattered trees on farms.
Results indicate a strong positive impact of the Sub-Mission for Agroforestry (SMAF), with every additional rupee above the mean corresponding to a 114.14 m² increase in tree cover outside forests measured after the four year lag. However, the remaining policies and programs show little to negative impacts on tree cover. The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), a program to promote agricultural development, including agroforestry practices, was linked to small decreases in tree cover over time. Similarly, the National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and the Green India Mission (GIM), the country’s foremost programs to increase tree cover, are associated with the loss of tree cover. Expenditures under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are similarly associated with a negative impact on tree cover. “Some of the differences in these program outcomes on tree cover may be explained by the mode of disbursement. For example, under the Sub-Mission for Agroforestry (SMAF)’s performance-linked structure, each state preparesnan agroforestry action plan which is submitted for funding approval. Such action plans, instead of mandatory earmarked transfers from the centre to the state, may be more effective in increasing tree cover”, explains Dr. Pooja Choksi, a co-author of this publication.
Although this is one of the first comprehensive analyses of the impact of tree planting program expenditures, methodological and data constraints make more nuanced examinations difficult. Co-author, Dr. Forrest Fleischman says, “the lack of publicly available fine-scale expenditure data prevents us from doing any causal analyses, which could help us better understand the impact of every rupee spent under these programs. When data is only available at the state level, we cannot take into account potential local biophysical and socio-
economic factors that might affect tree plantation success.” More importantly, without fine-scale information on the quality of the trees cover planted, which depends on the tree species choice, the level of community participation, and alignment with local land-use needs, the study notes that it is difficult to holistically examine the true social, economic and ecological impact of expenditures under these programs/ policies. “Although our study has substantially increased our understanding of which programs are working, and to an extent, why they are or are not working, we need to complement these predominantly remote-sensing based analyses with complementary field-based methodologies to truly understand the multidimensional impact of these programs.” suggests co-author, Dr. Richard Howarth on the future directions of such research.
Link to paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ae4320/meta
DOI: 10.1088/2515-7620/ae4320
Contact
Spriha Pandey
Email: sprihapandey06@gmail.com
Dr. Pooja Choksi
Email: poojamchoksi@gmail.com
Dr. Forrest Fleischman
Email: ffleisch@umn.edu
Dr. Richard Howarth
Email: richard.b.howarth@dartmouth.edu
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The press release detailed above was provided by the authors.