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UNCCD - COP 14
Why is it in news?
- Ahead of United Nations conference, Union Environment Minister committed to rejuvenate 50 lakh hectares (5 million) of degraded land between 2021 and 2030.
- India for the first time will host the 14th session of the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) from September 2 to 13.
More in news
- Where We Stand
(1) We face a severe problem of land degradation .i.e. soil becoming unfit for cultivation.
(2) About 29% or about 96.4 million hectares are considered degraded.
- India becoming a part of Bonn Challenge with committing restoration of 5 million hectares of forest land as well as cultivable land.
- At the UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India had already joined the voluntary Bonn Challenge under which we have pledged to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, andadditional 8 million hectares by 2030.
- Initiatives such as
(1) Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana,
(2) Soil Health Card Scheme,
(3) Soil Health Management Scheme,
(4) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana are seen as prongs to tackle this land degradation.
- A report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has underlined that land everywhere is being affected by severe climate change which could lead to extreme food insecurity.
Source
The Hindu