Government of Tamil Nadu and USAID Launch New Initiative to Increase Tree Coverage in Tamil Nadu

Bringing together farmers, companies, and other private institutions to rapidly expand green cover outside of traditional forests in the state to support global climate change mitigation.

February 9, 2023, Chennai: Today, the Government of Tamil Nadu’s Forest Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced in Chennai the launch of the “Trees Outside Forests in India (TOFI)” program in Tamil Nadu, which will bring together farmers, companies, and other private institutions to rapidly expand tree coverage outside of traditional forests in the state.  The new initiative will enhance carbon sequestration, support local communities, and strengthen the climate resilience of agriculture, thereby contributing to global climate change mitigation and adaptation goals.

The State of Tamil Nadu has long placed a high priority on expanding tree cover outside forest areas, as demonstrated by its establishment of the Green Tamil Nadu Mission and Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, which aim to tackle the climate crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of measures, including increased tree cover.  TOFI will build on the state’s progress and harness agroforestry to bolster the resilience of farming systems, while also further increasing the income of farmers in Tamil Nadu.  Importantly, TOFI will leverage India’s private sector to promote and scale tree-based enterprises and the sale of carbon credits, helping to create jobs and boost incomes.

U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Ambassador Elizabeth Jones said, “The United States is proud to support the Trees Outside Forests in India program, which builds upon decades of U.S.-India cooperation in forestry and climate-smart agriculture.  Expanding tree cover outside of forest areas will contribute to our mutual climate change goals, increasing carbon sequestration as well as farmer incomes.”

Attending the launch, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Forests, Environment and Climate Change, Government of Tamil Nadu, Ms. Supriya Sahu said, “The government of Tamil Nadu is giving huge impetus to agroforestry and plantations on areas outside of the notified forest areas. With the state government’s target to increase the forest and tree cover to 33 percent as per Vision 2023, the TOFI program will support the state in achieving its goals while also aiding the creation of a balanced ecosystem to advance the socio-economic development of the state.”

The Trees Outside Forests in India program was launched in September 2022 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Secretary Leena Nandan and then-U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Patricia Lacina.  The program will allocate up to $25 million U.S. dollars in seven states including Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh and is implemented in partnership with the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). With the goal of rapidly expanding tree coverage outside of traditional forests by 2.8 million hectares, the program will contribute to India’s Nationally Determined Contribution target of creating an additional “carbon sink” of 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030.  This new program builds on the enduring U.S.-India partnership to tackle the climate crisis and bolster resilience in the face of climate threats and extreme weather events.