ICLEI South Asia has initiated an assessment of the carbon sequestration potential of trees in Hosur city, Tamil Nadu. The initiative, supported by Titan Company Limited, seeks to build a better understanding of the city’s tree cover and the role it can play in the city’s transition to net-zero.
As part of the exercise, a tree cover map of Hosur is also being developed. An on-ground tree survey has been initiated and will cover the different ecosystems within the city. The survey will generate data on the trees present across Hosur and provide the basis for estimating their carbon sequestration potential.
Urban trees are an important component of cities’ natural assets. Beyond providing shade and contributing to healthier urban environments, trees absorb and store atmospheric carbon dioxide, acting as natural carbon sinks for a city. Understanding how much carbon is being sequestered by a city’s existing tree cover can therefore provide useful evidence for strengthening urban climate strategies and informing future planning.
The assessment will culminate in an estimate of the metric tonnes of carbon sequestered by trees across Hosur. This information will help Hosur understand the contribution of its existing tree cover towards its climate goals and support efforts to achieve net-zero development.
This builds on ICLEI South Asia’s expertise in using on-ground data and spatial mapping to understand the contribution of a city’s trees to climate action. Previous assessments have been carried out in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Siliguri, Amravati, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, and Udaipur.
