Land Degradation Neutrality

Table of Contents

Context

Union Environment Ministry has committed to rejuvenate 50 lakh hectares (5 million) of degraded land between 2021 and 2030.
A Centre for Excellence would be set up in Dehradun for land degradation neutrality.

The State of India’s Environment report, 2017 calculates that nearly 30 per cent of India is degraded or facing desertification. This figure touches 40 to 70 percent in eight states— Rajasthan, Delhi, Goa, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.

LDN has been defined by the Parties to the Convention as:
– A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.

As land is fixed in quantity, there is ever-increasing competition to control land resources
LDN represents a paradigm shift in land management policies and practices.
It is a unique approach .
The implementation of LDN requires multi-stakeholder engagement
UNCCD and the UN Environment Programme (UN Environment) came together to mark the United Nations General Assembly adoption of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.
To date, over 120 countries have engaged with the LDN

This January, India became part of the “Bonn Challenge”,
India’s pledge is one of the largest in Asia.
Schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Soil Health Card Scheme, Soil Health Management Scheme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana are seen as prongs to tackle this land degradation.
India for the first time will be hosting the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) from September 2 to 13.

Established in 1994, the UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda.
2006 was declared “International Year of Deserts and Desertification”.