Linking Community Forestry Projects in India with International Carbon Markets: Opportunities and Constraints

Abstract

"There are several community forestry projects in India that can potentially sell carbon sequestration credits in international markets. However, due to long delays in approval of Clean Development Projects under Kyoto Protocol, these forestry initiatives need to review the voluntary carbon sector. This paper is based on field research with two prominent community forestry initiatives in India, Seva Mandir (SM) and Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), and assesses the feasibility of linking them with US based Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's biggest voluntary carbon market. In 2005 alone, CCX traded in carbon credits worth $2.8 million, including credits from land use change. In all, the annual carbon sequestration potential of post-1990 plantations carried out by SM and FES is more than 90,000 tCO2. This is worth about $350,000 on the CCX. Although these plantations comply with CCX rules, there are concerns regarding leakage and permanence. In general, local communities should be allowed to harvest fodder, firewood, and other minor forest products for their sustenance needs. Long term sustainability of carbon stock (permanence) is therefore linked with both payments and how well community interests are integrated within the carbon contract. These payments will both provide development benefits to local communities and additional source of funding for implementing NGOs."