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India committed to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030: Minister
The minister said that India’s journey represents a transformative narrative of commitment and innovation
India aligns with sustainable development goals on food security and climate crisis through effective land management, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav said at the UN Desertification Summit in Riyadh on Monday.
Reiterating India’s commitment to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, the minister said that India’s journey represents a transformative narrative of commitment and innovation.
“From global recognition of land degradation as a critical environmental challenge at COP5 to emphasising the community driven land restoration at COP10 and thereafter recognition of land restoration as a climate change strategy at COP14 to global commitment to restore degraded land at COP15, we have been equal partners,” Yadav said.
“Land degradation not just an environmental issue but a critical socioeconomic challenge,” he said, adding that at COP14 during India’s presidency, the country committed to restoring 26 million hectare of degraded land by 2030 apart from setting up of a centre on sustainable land management.
He also reiterated the G20’s goal to plant one trillion trees by 2030 and thereby creating carbon sinks and that India has a “proactive drought strategy” that makes use of satellite data from Indian Space Research Organisation for drought vulnerability assessments.
“We are addressing food security and climate change through land management. We align our action with sustainable development goals,” he said.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia launched the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership. In partnership with UNCCD, countries, international organizations and other stakeholders, will work to deliver a plan for drought mitigation.
“Major commitments were announced at the Ministerial Dialogue on Drought Resilience at COP16 Riyadh. The Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund have each committed $1 billion to the Riyadh Drought Resilience Partnership through 2030. I applaud this bold investment in building a resilient future for communities, economies and ecosystems,” Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary wrote on X.
COP16 is a multilateral meeting to raise global ambition and accelerate action on land and drought resilience. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is one of the three major UN treaties known as the Rio Conventions alongside climate and biodiversity.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the main decision-making body of UNCCD’s 197 Parties – 196 countries and the European Union. This time it is coinciding with the 30th anniversary of UNCCD. COP16 will be the largest UN land conference to date, and the first UNCCD COP held in the Middle East and North Africa region.
At COP16, countries are expected to decide on collective actions to: accelerate restoration of degraded land by 2030 and beyond; boost resilience to intensifying droughts and sand and dust storms; restore soil health and scale up nature-positive food production; secure land rights and promote equity for sustainable land stewardship; ensure that land continues to provide climate and biodiversity solutions among others.
