Press Release

New Delhi, March 31st, 2022: Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with the Government of India to provide Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan amounting to JPY 10,535 million JPY (approximately INR. 680 crores) for Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening Project for against Climate Change Response.

The project aims to mitigate and adapt to climate change and improve the ecosystem thereby contributing to sustainable socio-economic development in Tamil Nadu.

Taking advantage of JICA's loan, Tamil Nadu Forest Department (TNFD) will implement the project, which consists of the five components: 1) Ecosystem-based climate change measures, 2) Human wildlife conflict measures, 3) Promoting supply chain development, 4) Livelihood improvement activities, and 5) Management capacity development.

The loan agreement was signed between Mr. Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Mr. SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative, JICA India.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. SAITO Mitsunori, Chief Representative, JICA India said, "JICA has implemented afforestation projects in Tamil Nadu since 1997. JICA conducted an impact study on the previous project in Tamil Nadu in 2021. The key takeaways attained through the study have been incorporated in the new project and the evaluation result of the previous project was widely shared to officials in Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and forest department in each state through the online workshop in January 2022. The new project is the first case where JICA specifies "climate change" in the project name with the consensus of Government of India and Government of Japan. This embodies our commitment for tackling climate changes. The Project will contribute to mitigation of climate change impact, with an estimated annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reduction of 243,054 t CO2 equivalent."

JICA has evolved its support for forestry and natural resource management sector by synergistically incorporating the key takeaways garnered by projects implemented in the past and by flexibly catering to demands with times. Since the start of its assistance to the forestry sector in India in 1991 with a project in Rajasthan, JICA has supported 31 projects, with 28 state specific projects covering 15 states. For the last 30 years, detailed review of the past projects has been paving the way for new field of support.

Japan's support to India consists of ODA loans of 270 billion Japanese Yen (approximately INR 17,419 Crore) since 1991 towards the forestry sector. The total area of afforestation activities under JICA supported projects reaches close to 3 million hectares across Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Meghalaya.

Exchange Rate: INR 1/-=JPY 1.55/-

About JICA

Established, by a specific law, as an incorporated administrative institution under the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims to contribute to the promotion of international cooperation, as a sole Japanese governmental agency in charge of ODA implementation. JICA is the world's largest bilateral donor agency. JICA works as a bridge between Japan and emerging countries, and provides assistance in forms of loan, grant and technical cooperation so that the emerging countries can strengthen their capabilities.

• JICA India Office Web
• JICA India Brochure
• JICA Facebook Page (external link)

For further information, please contact:

JICA India Office
Shusaku Takada / Aishwarya Mishra
+91 11 49097000
Takada.Shusaku@jica.go.jp ; Mishra-Aishwarya@jica.go.jp

Edelman India
Rakhi Aurora
(+91) 9599067185
Rakhi.Aurora@edelman.com