India to restore 26 mn hectares of degraded land |
Indian Prime Minister told a high-level United Nations dialogue on 14th June that his government plans to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. And, in the spirit of South-South cooperation, Modi said India will assist other developing countries also with land-restoration strategies. Asserting that land degradation affects over two-thirds of the world, Modi said if left unchecked, it will erode the very foundations of our societies, economies, food security, health, safety, and quality of life. The Indian Prime Minister made the remarks in his virtual address at the UN "High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and the drought”. He said India has taken the lead to highlight land-degradation issues at international forums and cited that the "Delhi Declaration" of 2019 called for better access and stewardship over land and emphasized gender-sensitive transformative projects. Modi said "In India, over the last 10 years, around three million hectares of forest cover has been added. This has enhanced the combined forest cover to almost one-fourth of the country`s total area. We are on track to achieve our national commitment to land degradation neutrality. We are also working towards restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030,”. This would contribute to India`s commitment to achieving an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
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