Prelims: Current events of national and international importance| Environment
Why in News?
India has called for adequate, diversified and predictable international finance for land restoration and drought resilience in the ongoing UNCCD COP 17.
- The 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is being held from 17–28 August 2026.
- Held in – Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,
- A USD 1.3 billion financial package has been launched to support restoration of the world's rangelands.
Rangelands
- Rangelands include grasslands, shrublands, drylands, wetlands and deserts.
Rangelands cover more than 50% of the Earth's land surface.
- They support pastoral livelihoods, food security, and biodiversity and carbon storage.
- Around half of the world's rangelands are considered degraded.
- The Rangelands Flagship Initiative seeks to increase investment in conservation, sustainable management and restoration of rangelands.
India's stand
- India emphasised that land restoration should be treated as an investment, not merely an expenditure.
- International finance should be continuous, predictable and accessible, particularly for developing countries.
- Domestic finance alone cannot substitute for international financial obligations.
- Finance should reach local communities and ecosystems rather than remain concentrated at institutional levels.
India's Initiatives
- Green India Mission – Enhances forest/tree cover and ecosystem resilience.
- Sovereign Green Bonds – Mobilise funds for environmental and climate priorities.
- Green Credit Programme – Incentivises restoration of degraded forest land.
- CAMPA – Finances compensatory afforestation and ecosystem restoration.
- Nagar Van Yojana – Promotes urban forestry, Watershed development, agroforestry and soil-water conservation support land restoration.
- India is among the major global pledgers to the Bonn Challenge.
- In 2015, India made commitment to restore degraded and deforested land about 26 million hectares by 2030.
India restored 21.76 million hectares of degraded land during 2011–2020, generating 1.22 billion person-days of employment.
Global Finance Challenge
- UNCCD estimates that around USD 355 billion annually is needed between 2025–2030 for land restoration and addressing land degradation, desertification and drought.
- Current annual investment is around USD 77 billion, creating a financing gap of about USD 278 billion annually.
About UNCCD
- UNCCD is one of the three Rio Conventions, along with UNFCCC and CBD.
- Focuses on – Desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD).
- Objective – To achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
References
UNCCD Ministerial dialogue on restoration
PIB| Land Restoration is India
ANI News| Green-Finance Framework for Land Restoration
