Trees Beyond Forests initiative launched in Assam

Trees Beyond Forests initiative: The “trees outside forests in India (TOFI)” programme was introduced by the Assam government and the US Agency for International Development (USAID)with the goal of bringing together farmers, businesses, and private institutions to increase the amount of trees in the State’s non-traditional forests.

Trees Beyond Forests initiative: Key Points

• The Trees outside forests in India, new programme aims to increase carbon sequestration, aid local populations, and boost agriculture’s climate resilience, supporting global climate change mitigation and adaptation goals.
• Assam has given increasing the tree cover outside of forest regions great priority, as evidenced by the State Action Plan on Climate Change and the recent creation of the Assam Agroforestry Development Board (AADB).
• The goal is to add 2.8 million hectares of tree cover outside of traditional forests, helping India reach its nationally set contribution target of adding 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in additional “carbon sinks” by 2030.

Key Aspects:

• Partnership: Assam Govt., USAID, Assam Agroforestry Development Board, CIFOR-ICRAF.
• Goal: Increase trees outside traditional forests to meet India’s climate targets (2.5-3 billion tons carbon sink by 2030).
• Focus Areas: Agroforestry, carbon credit sales, job creation, climate resilience, farmer income.
• Mechanism: Involves private sector, farmers, institutions to scale up tree planting.