'50 lakh hectares hit by desertification to be restored'

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar

On Tuesday, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said that India has set a target to make fertile over the next 10 years 50 lakh hectares of land affected by desertification or degradation. The minister for environment said that the process will be carried out by adopting the landscape restoration approach, which is crucial to converting the infertile land to fertile. The process also involves a scientific approach and techniques.

This year, India is hosting the Conference of Parties (COP) 14 of United Nations convention from September 2 to 13 to combat desertification. Javadekar pointed out that the conference was crucial as one-third of the world's land area was either affected by desertification or degraded which turns out to be 40,000 lakh hectares.

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With reference to India, 29 percent of land surface or 960 hectares is degraded and we have to make it fertile, the minister said. While addressing a press conference ahead of the event, the minister for environment said that the country would implement the resolutions adopted at the New Delhi Declaration.

Javadekar informed that a centre of excellence to combat desertification of the fertile land would be set up at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, which will study the causes of desertification of the fertile land and devise solutions. He said that the centre will conduct the baseline mapping, mapping of the existing schemes and programs, setting priorities and achieving transformative projects.

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With inputs from IANS

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