Financing Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) under RECAP4NDC
India has made significant international commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to combat climate change and land degradation. The national goal is to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by restoring 26 million hectares by 2030, directly contributing to India’s NDC target of sequestering 2.5–3 billion tonnes of 2.5–3 billion tonnes of Carbon Dioxide through enhanced forest and tree cover.
In this context, projects such as 'Restore, Conserve and Protect Forest and Tree Cover for NDC Implementation in India (RECAP4NDC)' can act as catalysts to further strengthen and advance these commitments.
RECAP4NDC is an Indo-German bilateral technical cooperation project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) and implemented by a consortium led by GIZ, alongside the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Forest Survey of India (FSI), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Despite ambitious goals, financing remains a major hurdle for Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR). Private investment is crucial but limited due to perceived risks, long timelines, and uncertain returns. Restoration costs vary with the landscape degradation and may require different funding sources ranging from low-risk investors for minimal restoration to CSR, philanthropy, and crowdfunding for high-cost efforts. Current financing includes climate funds, private sector contributions, development finance, and public budgets. However, innovative instruments like impact funds, risk mitigation tools, market-based mechanisms, and green bonds are essential to unlock scalable, long-term FLR financing.
This roundtable conference, jointly organized by TERI and CBI, brings together a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including policy and regulatory bodies, financial institutions, development partners, industry and private sector platforms, legal and consulting partners, conservation and technical organizations, and project implementers and facilitators. The discussions will consolidate best practices, strengthen investor confidence, and shape the development of financial instruments tailored to forest and landscape restoration in India, ultimately contributing to a robust and scalable financial ecosystem that supports long-term, sustainable FLR implementation.