Activists and NGOs demand withdrawal
More than 100 environment and human rights organisations and over 400 people wrote to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change demanding to roll back the Green Credit Rules 2023. The organisations have alleged that the methodology introduced under the notification, which provides an incentive for forest diversion activities through green credit earnings, will result in as costly to the environment, forest and climate and to the rights of forest-dwelling communities.
On Friday, activists and organisations came together to oppose the programme, citing concerns regarding its unsustainable approach and reliance on market forces for the conservation, restoration, and management of natural lands. The activists allege that the notification dated February 22, is a profit-oriented programme that only seeks to incentivise forest diversion and trample upon the rights of the forest-dwelling communities, instead of putting regulatory curbs on it to protect forests. Green Credit
Programme (GCP) is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivise voluntary environmental actions across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders like people, communities, private sector industries, and companies.
The letter demands no such programme should be introduced without wider consultation with affected communities and experts. “Business-driven activities are the biggest violator of environmental rights and destroyer of forests. In a time when there is a need to focus on strengthening the legal framework to ensure environmental protection, the GCP would only serve as another tool to enable the exploitation of natural resources,” stated the activists.Organisations like People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Let India Breathe, Fridays For Future Karnataka, Centre for Financial Accountability, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti among others, lawyers including Anand Grover, Henri Tiphagne, Mihir Desai and other activists like Agnes Kharshiing, Sarang Yadwadkar, Yuvan Aves among others signed the petition.