India Rural Livelihoods Project Site (Photo: VEDA MACS Ltd.)

India: Improving Rural Livelihoods

The project will develop 3,500 ha of tree plantations in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The plantations will focus on a mix of medium sized, and small and marginal farmers on their private lands. Farmers will be organized into a cooperative to increase their representation and negotiation power, and will individually sign buy back contracts with an industrial partner from the paper industry, JK Paper Mills Ltd (JKPL). The partner will help arrange short term credit to farmers for up-front investment costs and provide subsidized planting material, as well as committing to purchase the timber at market prices. Long term credit to small and marginal farmers will also be arranged to meet the cost of plantation and maintenance. In particular, JKPL brings over 100 years of experience and expertise in agroforestry techniques and cloning technologies.

The land chosen for the plantation is barren and highly degraded. Only limited non viable subsistence farming is currently conducted on these lands. Around 50% of the plantations will be Eucalyptus, which is not indigenous but is grown widely in India and produces good raw material for the paper industry. An environmental impact assessment has gauged that there will be no negative effects on groundwater.  Other species will include high productivity species and indigenous species such as Emblica Officinalis, Pongamia Pinnata, Jatropa spp, Mangifera Indica, Tamarindus spp, Tectona grandis, and Azadirachta indica. The respective percentages of the various species will be decided by taking into account the environmental suitability and preference of the farmer. For example, Casuarina equisetifolia is likely to be used along the Andhra Pradesh coast where it grows best. The sustainable plantation technology chosen by the project will reduce harvesting and management impacts, will avoid environmental risks, and will enable intercropping by farmers.

The project is expected to sequester at least 0.27 Mt CO2e by 2017, with the possibility of generating an additional 0.37 Mt CO2e. The additional income stemming from this carbon sequestration will provide the necessary incentive needed for the realization of these plantations. They will bring several environmental benefits and will in particular halt the ongoing erosion process, protect water sources, and help protect local biodiversity. The partnership developed here will reduce the dependence of the industrial partner on natural forests and will be model for sustainably sourcing natural resources for rapidly growing economies. Participating farmers will benefit directly from the improvement in land use and land practices and from the increase in revenues. Intercropping and fuelwood production will also provide additional sustainable income. Additional social benefits will stem from the jobs creation for plantation activities like nursery operations, planting, forest management and protection. The project plans to generate a total of around 6 million man-days worth of employment. Given that employment opportunities are extremely limited in the project area, these benefits will be significant. Along with the contractual arrangements, these benefits will reduce the risk of non permanence of the sequestration. The realization of the plantations on barren unused lands and the opportunity of intercropping should ensure that the project does not lead to any leakage. The project is the first LULUCF project in India. The partnership developed here has significant demonstration and replication value, especially for the paper/construction industry. Its replication could have a strong impact on the protection of natural forests. The project will be implemented by a joint partnership between VEDA MACS Ltd., a cooperative society, which addresses issues related to sustainable development in general and sustainable agro-forestry practices in particular; JKPL as the key industrial partner of the project; and Veda Climate Change Solutions Ltd., a new company created for the purposes of this project.  JK Paper Mills Limited is one of the top paper industry companies and is the main paper industry proponent.