2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: bonn challenge, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

UN CONFERENCE ON COMBATING DESERTIFICATION

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: Desertification, Desertification in India, How to stop desertification, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

News Flash

India signed a formal agreement with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to host the Conference (COP-14) in September.

Objective

The conference is expected to review the progress made to control and reverse the further loss of productive land from desertification, land degradation, and drought.

Desertification in India

At present, 23% of the world’s geographical area is affected by degradation.
India faces degradation in nearly 30% of its land due to multiple reasons including deforestation.
Every minute we lose up to 23 hectares of land globally. Every day land degradation is costing humanity up to $1.3 bn.
One-third of Indias’ geographical area is affected by land degradation including desertification.

Steps taken by the Indian Government

India’s voluntary pledge to restore 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020.
Additional 8 million hectares by 2030.
India had recently launched a pilot project to restore its degraded forests in five states in a time-bound manner.
States- Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, and Karnataka.
The project is launched in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Background

India had in 2015 voluntarily committed to restoring 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020 as part of its ‘Bonn Challenge’ pledge.

Bonn Challenge

The ‘Bonn Challenge’ is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.

Desertification

It is defined as “a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife.”
Loss of soil cover, mainly due to rainfall and surface runoff, is one of the biggest reasons for desertification.
It is responsible for 10.98 percent of desertification in the country.
Water erosion is observed in both hot and cold desert areas, across various land covers and with varying levels of severity.
The next big reason is wind erosion.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

It was established in 1994.
It is a legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands.

UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework

It is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
It will restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land.
The framework will also improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations.

Source: ET, Down To Earth

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