Can India endure to restore 50 lakh hectare of degraded land by 2030?

By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation

‘Reversing land degradation and its outcomes while accelerating positive achievements for people and for ecosystems with a view to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals’ is the core agenda of the fourteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP14). COP14 is taking place on 2-13 September 2019 at the India Mart and Expo, in the Greater Noida area of New Delhi, India.

With special reference to India, the menace of land degradation is increasing where fertile land gradually deteriorates into a wasteland. Also,the Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) report also indicates that water erosion (37.4%), wind erosion (18.9%) and salinity (3.8%) in India have amplified the case for land degradation. This can be disastrous. Climatic variations and human activities such as overgrazing, deforestation, agricultural activities, overexploitation of vegetation for domestic use, bio-industrial activities can be considered the prime reasons for desertification.

Land degradation is becoming a concern, since, according to UNCCD, it has already caused a five per cent reduction in total global net primary productivity and impacted the well-being of 3.2 billion people globally. Overexploitation of natural resources without any concerted efforts towards replenishing the lost resources is the most significant reason for increasing land degradation.The current trajectories based on ‘sectoral or silo approach’ have failed to attain the goal of sustainable development in the region for want of capacity building of the stakeholders, convergence, cooperation and coordination between actor and the sector. As our Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Prakash Javadekar highlighted during the COP 14-UNCCD Curtain raiser event that ‘Land Desertification is a challenge in India having 29 per cent of degraded land and India’s commitment to make 50 lakh hectares of degraded land as fertile in 10 years. He also conveyed the significance of Science as opportunities in finding amicable solutions to restore land given’.COP14 shall set a good forum to assimilate best practices, experiences from various experts, institutions and international agencies.

COP14-UNCCDis a right platform to strengthen Adaptation & Mitigation steps in our fight against Deforestation, where Discussions and Deliberations shall focus on:

Ø  The need for inter and intraregional cooperation in dealing with water-induced and climate-induced disasters and also combat the menace of land desertification.

Ø  Establish policies and enabling environments for promoting and implementing solutions to combat desertification and land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought.

Ø  Better land management practices and initiatives help in tackling climate change through special stress to protect land to ensure water-food-energysecurity to meet the population needs of 130 billion.

Ø  Focus on the critical gaps, challenges in land management and planning, but also on practical actions to ensure focus on sustainable management of land and water resources.

Taking over the COP Presidency from China, India will have to play a lead role in combating desertification for the next two years and show its commitment aim to realize UNCCD Strategic Framework by achieving ‘land degradation neutrality by 2030. Fingers crossed for the COP14-UNCCD.

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