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Carbon credits & Indigenous peoples
Controversial carbon credits scheme in Kenya re-certified by Verra.
30 June 2026
Main image: Shompen band traversing a river on Great Nicobar Island. © Anthropological Survey of India
A key UN body has urged the Indian government to suspend the controversial Great Nicobar project in a major blow to the scheme’s reputation.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on India to ‘suspend the implementation of the projects on the Great Nicobar and Andaman Islands until a full and independent environmental, economic, social, cultural and spiritual impact study has been completed.’
If it goes ahead, the planned $10 billion project – comprising a mega-port, a new city, an international airport, a power station, a military base, an industrial park and up to 650,000 settlers – will devastate the uncontacted Indigenous Shompen people, who live on Great Nicobar Island.
The UN body also highlighted the ‘lack of measures taken to address the concerns’ over ‘adverse impacts of the development projects on Great Nicobar and Andaman Islands, which threaten the survival of various vulnerable Indigenous / Tribal Peoples, particularly those living in voluntary isolation.’
‘The UN has now joined the powerful chorus of voices raised against the Great Nicobar project. All the independent experts who have looked at this have warned that it will be disastrous for the Shompen. No argument about potential economic benefits can justify inflicting a genocide. The Indian government, and interested corporations like the Adani Group, must listen and abandon this devastating scheme.’
CAROLINE PEARCE
Survival International’s director
In its response to CERD, the Indian government admitted that, because the Shompen are uncontacted, it was impossible to consult them about the project, let alone obtain their Free, Prior and Informed Consent, as is required under international law.
The project has already been heavily criticised by a wide range of experts, including 39 international genocide experts, who warned in 2024 that the Shompen face genocide if the project proceeds.
CERD also expressed concerns about the long-standing practice in India of evicting Indigenous peoples from their lands to turn them into tiger reserves.
The committee called on India to suspend the forced evictions and instead enact ‘a human rights-based approach to conservation that recognises Indigenous / Tribal Peoples as custodians of biodiversity.’
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