National Action Programme to Combat Desertification Unveiled by Environment Ministry

India is a party to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification, 2023 was prepared taking due consideration of the country’s commitments for restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, initiative for enhanced South-South Cooperation that aims to share experiences on Sustainable Land Management (SLM) strategies and create additional carbon sink of 2.5 – 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 through additional forest and tree cover. The plan further suggests indicative models under the categorization of remedial and preventive models for combating land degradation and desertification and details about the new initiatives to address the issues of land degradation.

The National Action Plan to Combat Desertification, 2023 highlights the need for a synergistic, efficient planning and implementation of the eco-restoration initiatives in the country by converging all afforestation schemes in the country to provide the much-needed impetus and focus on addressing the sustainable management of forest and natural resources available in the specific landscape, and an effective planning and a wider selection of vulnerable and potentially vulnerable sites capable of supporting progressive and sustainable eco-restoration interventions. The Plan emphasizes on convergence of the various schemes for restoration of the degraded land and does not have any provision for financial assistance.