Daijiworld Media Network- New York
New York, May 9: At the 20th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF20), held at the UN Headquarters in New York, India made a compelling pitch for global cooperation in wildlife and forest conservation. The nation extended an open invitation to member countries to join the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)—a unique initiative launched by India to promote conservation of the world’s seven major big cat species through joint research, capacity building, and knowledge exchange.
Representing India at the forum, Sushil Kumar Awasthi, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), outlined the country’s forest management successes and ecological contributions.
In a statement, the MoEFCC highlighted India’s consistent increase in forest and tree cover, now standing at 25.17 per cent of its total geographical area, as per the latest India State of Forest Report. Notable initiatives include the restoration of the Aravalli Green Wall, a 7.86 per cent rise in mangrove cover over a decade, afforestation of 1.55 lakh hectares under the Green India Mission, and the planting of over 1.4 billion seedlings through the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam (Plant4Mother) campaign.
India also urged global stakeholders to take forward the outcomes of the Country-Led Initiative (CLI) hosted in Dehradun in October 2023, which focused on critical concerns like forest fire management and forest certification systems. The Indian delegation acknowledged similar efforts by nations such as the Republic of Congo, DPR Korea, and Austria, while advocating for formal global integration of such initiatives.
During a high-level panel on “Valuing Forest Ecosystems in National Policy and Strategy,” India shared findings from pilot projects in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and several tiger reserves, where ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water provisioning, and biodiversity conservation were quantified using tools like the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) and Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) frameworks.
India also stressed the need for mainstreaming ecosystem valuation into national policy, acknowledging the complexities of valuing non-market services but reaffirming its commitment to long-term sustainability and science-driven governance.