UNCCD and Environment

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - 25 Years (Collaborate with 2 UN institution - UNFCC & UNCBD)

Theme - Lets grow the future together (India to host COP 14 (197 mem) in Sept 2019)

- sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. 

UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework: It is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations to build.

UNCCD Impact Forecast- 

Land & Drought: By 2025 1.8 bn people would go under extreme water scarcity and 2/3 people will be under water stressed condition.

Land & Human Security: 135 mn people will be displaced due to desertification. 

Land & Climate: 3 bn carbon annually can be restored if soil conservation takes palce

 

• Goal 15 of Sustainable Development Goals(SDG), 2030 declares that “we are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations”.

India and UNCCD

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 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 the States of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Karnataka.

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.
• At the UNFCCC 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, an additional 8 million hectares by 2030.
• India’s pledge is one of the largest in Asia.

* India hosted 1st tym UNCCD (COP14) in Delhi n revised it's pledge from 21 mn hectare to 26 mn hectare recovery by 2030.

Delhi declaration - 

- peace forest initiative of South Korea to address the conflict torn border area degraded lands.

- drought toolbox - online website to assess n help drought affected countries.

- initiative of sustainability, stability n security (3S) launched by 14 African nation to address migration due to land degradation

- cooperation from youth n Pvt sec

India proposed to setup Global technical support institute n seeks greater south - south cooperation

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