India has nearly 140 million hectares of opportunity to protect forests and restore landscapes. Potential for Increase in Above-ground Carbon Sequestration Through protection, wide-scale restoration and mosaic restoration, India can sequester 3 to 4.5 billion tonnes of above-ground carbon by 2040. The variation in mosaic restoration areas reflects two scenarios. In the first, tree cover density in rainfed croplands is capped at 20 percent. In the second scenario, tree cover density in rainfed croplands is capped at 40 percent.

Forest protection and tree-based landscape restoration underpin many domestic policy goals and international commitments made by the Government of India. The National Forest Policy, 1988 aims to establish forest and tree cover over 33 percent of India’s geographical area. India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as part of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change commits to sequestering an additional 2.5 to 3 billion tons CO2 equivalent by 2030 through improved forest and tree cover. India's NDC ties in with its Bonn Challenge commitment to restore 13 million hectares of deforested and degraded areas by 2020 and an additional 8 million hectares by 2030.

Official estimates suggest that achieving the target requires protecting and improving existing forest cover while also extending tree cover in over 25 to 30 million hectares. Forest protection and landscape restoration is also an essential component of the Sustainable Development Goals especially SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land). With over 700 million people in rural India economically dependent on forests and agriculture improving forest and tree cover at scale can make a transformative contribution to strengthening rural economy and improving livelihoods of local communities including women, tribals and other marginalized groups.
The Restoration Opportunities Atlas brings together best available data and rigorous analysis to answer three questions:

1. Where can forest and tree cover be protected and increased, and how much carbon sequestration will this result in?
2. Which tree-based interventions have been implemented in different states? Who are the principal actors who have implemented these projects?
3. What necessary enabling conditions need to be in place and what risks addressed to ensure achievement of protection and restoration goals?

The Restoration Opportunities Atlas has been developed by WRI India with guidance from a technical working group comprising experts from leading organizations in the environment and development sectors. The Atlas will be useful for decision-makers in national and state governments, funding agencies, restoration practitioners, researchers and academics as well as private and civil society organisations committed to climate action in India.