Myriad herbal products from wild for healthy living, the bamboo craft, over 100 local varieties of paddy ; a rich diversity of minor millets and palate ticking cuisines that use a diversity of natural and organic products marked this year's Green Haat. Initiated by the ministry of environment & forest (MoEF), government of India in 2011, the 15 days long Green Haat event was organized at Dilli Haat from January 16-31, 2013 engaging 10 states and some 55 organizations.This year the theme was "Connecting Nature with Our Lives."

The event has been developed as an annual fare to raise awareness on the rich bio-diverse products of the country among the growing urban population, and helping them to rediscover the "Connect" with nature. It showcases various value added forest based products developed by rural artisans, community self help groups, NGOs, and state federations.

The event attempts to build and capitalize upon the rich traditional knowledge of the local communities to augment their forest based livelihood and generate awareness about the economic significance of forests among all sections of the society. This year, India recently hosted 11th Conference of Parties (CoP-11) on convention of biological diversity at Hyderabad. Strategic Plan and Aichi biodiversity targets 2020 are key to success of the Convention. The "Green Haat" has its role in providing support and market linkages to bio-diverse products, so crucial to livelihood of communities in far-flung areas. This linkage is crucial from the standpoint of contribution in improving biodiversity based livelihood, and promoting social entrepreneurship.