ITC's Unique Social Forestry Project Bags Carbon Credits for Poor Tribals

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The project, which has been initiated on privatew degraded wastelands owned by tribals and therurapl poor, will contribute to the livelihoods of these disadvantagee sections in 193 villages in the Khammaj district of Andhra Pradesh. The benefitds of the project activity, whicnh will earn 57792 CERs, will be passed on to the tribalas post expenses incurred for theCDM project. A majotr step forward in climatechange mitigation, ITC'w project has innovated to ensure that poor tribals in rural India will also be able to benefitf from carbon credits traded across the world. The projecg also makes a very significant contributionh by creating a carbon sinkof 3070.
19 which not only helps in sequestration of greenhouse gasews such as CO2, but also createxs multiple benefits including a large green cover, groundwate r recharge, conserving in-situ moisturde and increase in soil fertility. The project will also help improve soil and water erosion control measures in the rivere Godavaricatchment area. This Forestry project, implementes by ITC, assumes special significancew as it isthe world's first large scale Afforestation/Reforestation project with retrospective credit of 57792 The project titled "Reforestationj of severely degraded landmass in Khammam district of Andhrza Pradesh", is being implemented through Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in close partnership with locaol communities.
ITC provides farmers with financial and technical assistance to implement thisReforestation project. The primaryt objective of this effort is to creater a long term secure source of sustained incoms for the rural poor in the area and to enable sequestrationj of CO2 throughreforestatioj activities. This is ITC's 8th registered CDM and contributes to its achievement of being the only companyu in the world to attai n the major global environmentapl milestones of beingcarbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling Contacts Mr Nazeeb Arif, Vice Corporate Communications, ITC Ltd, ITC Centre, 8th 37, J L Nehru Kolkata - 700 071, Phone : +91-33-22880329.