Lok Sabha Question No. 3034 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-20
Subject: Land Degradation and Deforestation
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Sanjay(Kaka) Ramchandra Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTIO N NO.3034

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023

## Land Degradation and Deforestation

## 3034. SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY: SHRI SANJAY KAKA PATIL:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is true that India became a signatory to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 1994 and pledged to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030;
- (b) if  so,  the  steps  taken  in  this  regard  and  the  quantum  of  the  target  has  been achieved so far;
- (c) the measures taken to reverse land degradation and deforestation;
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  issue  of  land  degradation  needs  urgent attention;
- (e) if  so,  the  steps taken to tackle the issue of land degradation and desertification; and
- (f) the progress made under the Bonn Challenge pledge to bring under restoration 13 million hectares of degraded land by 2020?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a)to(f) India became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Combat Desertification  (UNCCD)  on  14th  October  1994  which  came  into  effect  on  17th March  1997.  At  the  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change (UNFCCC)  Conference  of  the  Parties  (COP),  2015  in  Paris,  India  joined  the voluntary Bonn Challenge pledge to bring into restoration 13 million hectares (mha) of  degraded  and  deforested  land  by  the  year  2020,  and  additional  8  mha  by  2030. This pledge to restore of 21 m.ha by 2030 has been increased to 26 mha, during the COP14 to the  United  Nations  Convention  to  Combat  Desertification  (UNCCD)  in 2019.

In  consonance with National Forest Policy (NFP), 1988 that envisages the national goal to have a minimum of one- third of the total land area under forest or tree cover, the Ministry has been taking several initiatives through various afforestation related schemes implemented by ministry and other ministries which aim at increasing and improving forest and tree cover and thereby combating desertification. The Ministry supports the States/Union Territories for carrying out various afforestation activities through Centrally Sponsored Scheme for conservation, development and promotion of forests under its major schemes namely, National Mission for a Green India (GIM) and Forest Fire Protection & Management Scheme (FFPM). Compensatory afforestation  under  CAMPA has also been used to increase forest  cover across the country. State Governments also implement various schemes for tree plantation/afforestation.

The  area  of  land  covered  through  afforestation  is  reportedunder  the  Twenty  Point Programme, which is approximately 18.94 million hectares during the period 201112 to 2021-22. This includes the afforestation achievements under concerted efforts of the State Governments through various central and state specific schemes.

The Government has undertaken a number of measures to combat land degradation and desertification in the country. These are as follows:

- (i) Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, published by Space Applications Centre (SAC) Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad, which provides the extent of land degradation and desertification in India, states that the land degradation and desertification in the country has been estimated to be 97.84 million hectares in 2018-19. It  provides  state-wise  area  of  degraded  land  which is helpful in planning and implementation of schemes aimed at restoration of land by providing important data and technical inputs.
- (ii) An online portal has been developed with the help of Space Application Center(SAC), Ahmedabad for visualization of degraded area of land with the processes causing degradation.
- (iii) A  Centre  of  Excellence  has  been  envisaged  at  the  Indian  Council  for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) Dehradun for enhanced SouthSouth  Cooperation.  It  aims  at  knowledge  sharing,  promotion  of  best practices, sharing of India's experiences with cost-effective and sustainable land  management strategies,  developing  ideas  for  transformative  projects and programs and capacity building.
- (iv) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - India, has been assigned  for  reporting  India's  progress  on  achieving  Bonn  Challenge target.

*****