The Asha Reforestation Project: Revitalising degraded soils, empowering communities and increasing biodiversity in West Bengal, India 

West Bengal is India’s fourth most populous state, with a population of around 91 million. In the northern districts of West Bengal, 85% of household revenues come from agriculture and physical labour. However, unsustainable rice cultivation practices have resulted in much of the private land in the region becoming unsuitable for agricultural practices. The region has seen low soil fertility significantly impacting food security.  

The northern districts of West Bengal have advantageous sub-tropical climatic conditions, making it an ideal location to develop a reforestation project that will help regenerate the land and preserve biodiversity in the area. 

EcoAct, in partnership with its local partner Tomorrow’s Foundation, is developing the Asha reforestation project, which aims to revitalise unproductive and degraded soils, improve carbon absorption through soil, increase biodiversity, and enhance the livelihoods of local communities.  

In December 2023, our experts travelled to West Bengal to meet with the Tomorrow’s Foundation team and different stakeholders involved or impacted by the project. EcoAct experts met with local farmers who own unproductive plots of land in the area and other local authorities, including village chiefs.  

Their visit provided the opportunity to finetune the operational design of the project and its carbon assumptions, the reporting and monitoring framework based on data collection and analysis, as well as to discuss the wider benefits for tribal communities, taking into account social empowerment, biodiversity conservation, and adaptation to climate change. 

Revitalising degraded soils and increasing biodiversity by planting trees 

The Asha Reforestation project aims at revitalising degraded soils and increasing biodiversity in the northern districts of the West Bengal region by planting multiple species of trees and supporting wildlife, throughout an area of more than 2,000 hectares.  

The barren, fallow lands have been abandoned over time because of low soil productivity and lack of investment.  Vermicompost will be used to increase soil fertility and quality, to enhance nutrient availability, boost crop productivity, and enhance pest and disease tolerance. 

In addition, more than 10 different local species of trees will be planted, based on: 

• Individual farmers’ interest
• Local plants already existing in the area
• Resistance to wild animal attacks
• Economic return potential (fruit, fodder, etc.)
• Carbon sequestration potential

By planting multiple tree species, the project will enable the preservation of a rich and bewildering variety of forests and wildlife, and the critical habitats of endangered species such as rhinoceros, elephants, gaurs, or tigers. 

Empowering farmers and making use of degraded lands 

In addition to unsustainable rice cultivation practices that have had a significant impact on soil fertility, land degradation has been exacerbated by climate change, with the region experiencing flooding and droughts.  

EcoAct and Tomorrow’s Foundation have organised consultations with local farmers to identify their needs and discuss the most suitable type of plantation or crop they wish to grow on their land. Farmers will retain ownership of the trees and their products, during the project’s lifetime and after. 

By developing a project carried out by and for smallholder farmers, the objective is to empower them and accelerate their transition to sustainable agricultural practices, and to support the adaptation to climate change, by implementing intercropping practices for instance. This will also help tackle the food security challenge with the production of fruits. 

The project aims to support at least 1,000 smallholder farmers, including women and tribal community members, who will be trained to collect seeds, plant trees, monitor and manage the nurseries, and maintain the plantations during the next 20 years.  

Overall, more than 2 million trees will be planted during the plantation phase spanning over four years. In total, the Asha project is expected to sequester around 913 ktCO₂e over the 20-year crediting period. 

After thorough due diligence, compliance checks and on-desk and field feasibility studies, EcoAct will manage the project’s implementation on the ground, hand-in-hand with its local partner, and will fully manage the certification of the project under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). EcoAct will also monitor the project continuously and thoroughly to ensure credits issuance and therefore steady in-flows of carbon finance on the ground and directly to the local farmers.  

If you’re interested in this project and would like to contribute to its success, you can contact our team of experts to find out more!