India preps to combat desertification

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India preps to combat desertification

Thursday, 20 June 2019 | Pioneer

India preps to combat desertification

Prakash Javadekar has launched a flagship project on enhancing capacity on forest landscape restoration and the Bonn Challenge in the country

Union environment minister, Prakash Javadekar speaking at an event in the capital on the occasion of world day to combat desertification and drought, said that we as a country make targets not under any global pressure but for our own country's real sustainable development. India will  lead by example in combating desertification.

He  further announced that India will be hosting the fourteenth session of Conference of Parties (COP-14) from August 29 to September 14 at the India Expo Mart Limited, Greater Noida.

The union minister further highlighted that with about 30 per cent of country's total geographical area being affected by land degradation; India has high stakes strongly committed to the convention. He said that various schemes have been launched by the government of India such as: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), soil health card scheme, soil health management scheme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Inchayee Yojna (PKSY), etc, which are helping to reduce land degradation. The union minister also unveiled the logo of COP-14 on the occasion.

Amitabh Kant, NITI Aayog, CEO said that the world day to combat desertification is a unique occasion to remind global community that desertification can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to this aim lay in strengthened community participation and cooperation at all levels. Secretary, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, CK Mishra said that the world day to combat desertification in 2019 will retrospect and celebrate the past years of progress made by India on sustainable land management.

The union minister also launched a flagship project on enhancing capacity on forest landscape restoration (FLR) and Bonn Challenge in India, through a pilot phase of 3.5 years implemented in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Karnataka. The project will aim to develop and adopt best practices and monitoring protocols for the states and build capacity within the five pilot states on FLR and the Bonn Challenge. This will   be eventually scaled up across the country through subsequent phases of the project. The 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. At the UNFCC conference of the parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India also joined the voluntary Bonn Challenge pledge to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by the year 2020 and additional eight million hectares by 2030.

United Nations has three rio conventions namely — United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Established in 1994, UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda. In 1994, the united nations general assembly declared 17 june the “world day to combat desertification and drought” to promote public awareness and the implementation of the UNCCD in the desertification affected countries.

One of the primary functions of the COP is to review reports submitted by the country parties detailing how they are carrying out their commitments. India will take-over the COP presidency from China for two years until the next COP is hosted in 2021.

Over 5,000 representatives from over 197 countries drawn from national, regional and local governments, science and research communities, the private sector, international and non-governmental organisations and all forms media will address the issue of combating desertification, land degradation and drought during the two-week event.

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