Which Projects Are Eligible For Investment?

In this section, you will find more information about the type of projects that are eligible for this call for proposals. Please read the details and application guidance carefully to make sure your organization is eligible before submitting an application.

All Harit Bharat Fund projects must be:

• Located in one of the three Central Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Learn more here.
  

• A locally led restoration effort that seeks to restore land in a way that benefits local communities and ecosystems. 

Commonly Asked Questions about Project Eligibility:

Will you only fund native/indigenous tree species? 

• Native species are strongly encouraged. Projects that grow non-native trees are eligible but will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Projects that grow invasive species or only monoculture plantations e.g. only Eucalyptus will not be considered. In many landscapes, planting certain non-native trees can improve the livelihoods and sustainability of farming communities through practices like growing non-natives in mixed agroforestry, agri-horti-forestry and silvopasture systems. Fruit and fodder trees, many of which are not native to the Central Indian landscape, provide real benefits to local communities without harming the climate or biodiversity. In cases where non-native species are proposed, the extent of their use, the livelihood benefits, and the relationship of the project to the broader landscape will be carefully reviewed.

Do natural generation and direct seeding projects qualify for this application in addition to tree planting projects? 

• Yes, natural regeneration, assisted natural regeneration, and direct seeding projects are encouraged. Assisted natural regeneration projects often naturally embrace native species, which are highly desirable. If techniques like removing invasive species or building fencing to protect growing forests is a part of the restoration plan and tree planting is not, this should be highlighted in the project description. Any project that increases tree cover in an ecologically sensible way qualifies for this funding programme.

Do projects need to grow trees in order to apply? Are non-tree-based restoration projects eligible? 

• We strongly encourage that all projects add to the number of trees growing in the project area, except in areas where tree planting is not appropriate, such as in Open Natural Ecosystems like grasslands or savannahs. Further, assisted natural regeneration projects that result in increased tree cover are strongly encouraged.

Are tree plantations eligible for this application? 

• Tree plantations that emphasize social and environmental benefits will be considered. The broader landscape considerations that surround the proposed plantation will also be taken into consideration. For example, productive plantations that use native species or a healthy mix of native and non-native or effectively engage and empower smallholders in the value chain would be considered. Another example could be adding plantations of mixed native species to a buffer zone around a native forest reserve to provide livelihood benefits for surrounding communities, thereby strengthening restoration and conservation outcomes in the local landscape.

Can the trees that are grown be used productively? Can a farmer use the tree in 5-10 years for timber to build furniture, for example?  

• Productive restoration projects are not excluded from this application. If some of the project’s trees are meant to be harvested and used, e.g., as firewood or for construction, then this should be described in the application. The business or project plan should share the overall lifecycle of the trees from planting to growing to harvesting and demonstrate sustainability.

How do you define “hectares restored”? Does that mean hectares that have trees planted/grown on them? 

• Hectares under restoration is the total land area measured in hectares with active restoration intervention, which includes agroforestry, silvopasture, riparian restoration, direct seeding, mangrove restoration, assisted natural regeneration, reforestation, soil and moisture conservation, watershed interventions, management of invasive species, food-forest practices, and so on.

• The land area under restoration does not exclusively mean areas with active tree planting. Some interventions may not have any active planting of trees and focus completely on enabling natural regeneration through improving the growing conditions for trees to thrive on the site or removing chemicals from sustainable production. In these cases, land areas would also count as hectares under restoration.

• Note also that hectares under restoration has a different meaning from hectares restored. Top projects will be required to report progress on hectares under restoration. Though not part of any reporting requirement, our philosophy to understanding hectares restored would be through interpreting progress indicators, data points from project plans, remotely sensed data or field checks to see that all of the projects’ restoration goals and targets are met.

How does Harit Bharat Fund define a "tree restored"? And how should I come up with this total during my application?

• Harit Bharat Fund defines "tree restored" as the total number of trees restored across all sites and throughout the entire project. This number is calculated based on the review of four sub-indicators: (1) the number of trees under restoration annually and over a 5-year period; (2) the number of seedlings or saplings grown in nurseries annually and over a 5-year period; (3) the number of trees counted at Year 0, Year 3, and Year 6 and the change in tree count from Year 0 to Year 6 across all sites; and (4) the percentage of tree cover at Year 0, Year 3, and Year 6 and the change in percent tree cover in the restored area across all sites.

• To come up with the total number of trees restored during your application, you will need to provide information on the four sub-indicators listed above. You will need to indicate the number of trees under restoration annually and over a 5-year period, the number of seedlings or saplings grown in nurseries annually and over a 5-year period, the number of trees counted at Year 0, Year 3, and Year 6 and the change in tree count from Year 0 to Year 6 across all sites, and the percentage of tree cover at Year 0, Year 3, and Year 6 and the change in percent tree cover in the restored area across all sites. Harit Bharat Fund will review this information to calculate the total number of trees restored.

Are ecosystem conservation and protection projects eligible? 

• We would encourage applications from projects that restore land, conserve ecosystems and provide for the needs of local people.

How does the application define “locally led restoration”? 

• Locally led restoration engages area residents as stakeholders in the process from design to decision making and implementation. Local staff are included in the organization’s leadership. A restoration project or business would be more favorably scored if the model ensures smallholders can participate in the value chain, employs people locally, and can show concrete benefits for local communities.

Will you support building the capacity/technical skills in monitoring skills for organizations that may lack the skills for collecting the required reporting data? 

• We have an ongoing technical assistance programme that incorporates trainings and helpful documents to help build monitoring skills for all organisations. We will provide guidance documents to projects and enterprises on how to create a project boundary, which metrics require reporting at given frequencies and how to submit reports through our TerraMatch system. Projects must provide reporting for three (3) years, and we will engage with projects to provide satellite monitoring for two (2) additional years for a total of five (5) years. We also have a rich resource library in our knowledge base (click here) where you can access helpful materials (available to all) as well as request for support (available only to organisations part of our funding programmes). However, we expect that applicant enterprises and organizations should have the internal capacity to collect the required data through their operations (e.g., # of trees planted by species, hectares of land under active restoration, work hours generated). 

Can bamboo species be used in the restoration in this call? 

• Yes, projects that grow bamboo in ecologically appropriate places are eligible. As a rule, we encourage biodiverse approaches with high social value, but we also recognize the importance of species with high market value as part of the mix. Please list the species of bamboo that will be used.

Is it possible to propose a combination of restoration techniques (two or more) within the same project? 

• Yes, we encourage projects that use a diversity of techniques, e.g., agri-horti-foresrty and trees on boundaries on private lands, reforestation/block plantation on the hills surrounding the community, combined with watershed management.