Themes & Tentative Agenda (Day-wise)

Day 1: Commons, Community Rights & Decentralised Governance

Evolution of Forest Governance in India
Legal and Policy Frameworks
Decentralised and Community-Based Governance
Forest Governance legalities: Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023; ACA; CAMPA

Day 2: Carbon Rights, Markets, and Emerging Opportunities

Forest Certification principles and tools
Carbon Market fundamentals, project cycle, case studies
Biodiversity and Blue Carbon credit systems

Day 3: Stewardship in Practice

Stewardship principles and toolkits
Community MRV processes
Safeguards for Forests & Commons in India

Day 4: Field Visit

Day 5: Synthesis and Closing

Exploring alternate funds for community-led initiatives
Team Presentations and Feedback
Drafting Roadmap for community-led conservation initiatives
Certificates Distribution

Expected Outcomes

Shared understanding of Forest governance in NbS context
Legal interpretations and recommendations on carbon rights and FPIC
Dialogue between communities, NGOs, legal experts, corporates, and financiers
Strengthened alliance for justice-aligned biodiversity and carbon markets
Draft roadmap for community-led, corporate-supported NbS initiatives

Date & Venue
4-8th December 2025 | Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal

Fee
₹25,000 per participant
Includes accommodation, meals, sessions & field activities.
Waivers: A limited number of partial and full fee waivers are available for community leaders, students, and under-resourced organisations (awarded on need and relevance)

Governing the Green: Community, Carbon & Biodiversity Futures

Residential Workshop on Forest Management & Stewardship

Co-hosted by Landstack, Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) & the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM)

About the Workshop

Across India and the wider Global South, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) have long stewarded forests, wetlands, coasts, and other commons through lived knowledge and local agency. Yet their stories often remain unseen amid top-down programmes. As climate change, land-use shifts, and extractive growth accelerate, tribal and customary landscapes stand at a crossroads. The entry of carbon and nature markets brings new opportunities—alongside pressing questions of tenure, FPIC, justice, and fair benefit-sharing.

India’s evolving legal and policy landscape—through FRA, CFRMPs, and DAJGUA, and new forest conservation measures—recognises communities as primary stewards. What’s needed now is to centre their leadership, build contextual evidence of their achievements, and strengthen local institutions. Our stewardship framework and Stewardship Assessment & Planning toolkit blend participatory approaches with scientific metrics to document outcomes, amplify community voices, and guide equitable investment in nature-based solutions.

Governing the Green: Community, Carbon & Biodiversity Futures is a five-day residential program (cohort ~25) designed for Community-based Organizations , NGO practitioners, legal experts, policymakers, and corporate sustainability professionals. The workshop centers community forest governance, carbon rights, FPIC and safeguards, and stewardship practice, with a practical lens on emerging carbon/biodiversity markets (including blue carbon) and financing models that respect rights and deliver long-term local benefits.

Hosted at IIFM, Bhopal, the program blends classroom sessions, case studies, field visits, and collaborative planning. Participants will work with FRA/CFRMPs, examine MRV options suitable for communities, explore policy–market interfaces, and co-create actionable roadmaps so that climate and biodiversity investments reinforce community rights, strengthen local governance, and improve ecological outcomes—rather than the other way around.

Strengthen understanding of forest governance frameworks
Examine emerging markets: carbon, biodiversity credits, blue carbon, and related legal mechanisms.
Center stewardship via community-led MRV, FPIC, and collective management.
Explore financing pathways for equitable, rights-aligned biodiversity and climate investment.
Encourage peer learning through case studies, team presentations, and a field visit.

Objectives of the workshop

Workshop Resource Persons

This workshop will be facilitated by a distinguished panel of resource persons representing the breadth of expertise required to navigate the complex intersection of community rights, biodiversity finance, and legal frameworks. Participants will engage with:
Government Practitioners – Former senior forest officers and policy advisors with extensive experience in conservation policy.
Academia – Researchers and faculty in environmental law, sustainable finance, and participatory governance.
Carbon market experts – Carbon finance professionals offering insights into carbon and biodiversity offsets.
Civil Society Representatives – Grassroots leaders experienced in FPIC and integrating value chains for community enterprises.

Target Workshop Participants

Academia & Researchers: faculty, postdocs, and Master’s/PhD scholars in environment, forestry, social sciences, law, public policy, and sustainability.
Civil Society & NGOs: practitioners working on forest governance, community rights, livelihoods, and conservation.
Government: officials from forest, tribal, rural development, and environment departments; PRI/Gram Sabha leaders.
Corporate & Finance: ESG, sustainability, and CSR professionals; impact investors and donors.
Community Leaders: leaders from IPLC/tribal institution