{"id":72404,"date":"2026-04-28T18:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=72404"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:26:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:56:02","slug":"desertification-g7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-04-2026\/desertification-g7","title":{"rendered":"G7 Declaration on Desertification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the <strong>G7 Environment Ministers<\/strong> have elevated desertification, land degradation and drought to the core of their agenda, and termed these conditions <strong>\u2018systemic global challenges\u2019<\/strong> and \u2018<strong>security risk multipliers\u2019.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Highlights of Declaration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scale of the Crisis: <\/strong>Desertification, land degradation and drought leads to declining soil fertility, water scarcity, and loss of ecosystem services.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It directly threatens <strong>food security and livelihoods<\/strong>, particularly in agrarian economies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nearly <strong>40% of global land is degraded<\/strong>, affecting <strong>about 3.2 billion people<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Stress as a Security Threat: <\/strong>G7 identifies desertification, land degradation and drought as a <strong>\u2018security risk multiplier\u2019.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Over <strong>40% of intrastate conflicts<\/strong> are linked to land and water disputes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Environmental degradation contributes to resource competition, forced migration, and political instability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It confirms the <strong>climate-conflict nexus<\/strong>, especially in vulnerable regions like the Sahel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Land Crisis in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Approximately <strong>97.85 million hectares (around 29.7%)<\/strong> of India&#8217;s total geographical area underwent land degradation as of 2018\u201319 <em>(ISRO Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas).<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India faces desertification across <strong>around 30% of its geographical area<\/strong> (around 97.85 million hectares).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Declining soil health<\/strong> directly threatens food and economic security, with <strong>over 40% of the population<\/strong> dependent on agriculture and land-based livelihoods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India <strong>became a signatory to the UNCCD in 1994<\/strong> (ratified 1996) and has committed to restoring <strong>26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030<\/strong> under the <strong>Bonn Challenge and UNCCD framework.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has already restored <strong>18.94 million hectares<\/strong> against this target.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Key Policy Interventions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aravalli Green Wall Project (2023):<\/strong> A green corridor across Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Gujarat, <strong>inspired by Africa&#8217;s Great Green Wall.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Action Plan to Combat Desertification (NAPCD)<\/strong>, revised in 2023, integrated with MGNREGS, CAMPA, and PMKSY.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alignment with Global Commitments (UNCCD &amp; SDGs): <\/strong>India is a signatory to the <strong>UNCCD<\/strong> and has committed to the <strong>Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), <\/strong>and restoration of millions of hectares of degraded land.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Desertification, land degradation and drought action supports<strong> SDG 2 (Food Security), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Green India Mission (GIM)<\/strong>, revised in 2025 with \u20b912,190 crore outlay targeting afforestation over 1 million hectares.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP)<\/strong> under PMKSY.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Policy Commitments By G7<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shift Towards Integrated Policy Approach: <\/strong>There is a need to move beyond sectoral thinking to a <strong>systems-based framework <\/strong>linking environment, economy and security.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recognises land as central to sustainable development, climate resilience, and peacebuilding.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Land Restoration and Drought Resilience: <\/strong>Scaling up sustainable land management, ecosystem restoration, and drought preparedness.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ecosystem-based approaches<\/strong> are critical for long-term resilience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financing Mechanisms: <\/strong>Emphasis on <strong>blended finance models<\/strong> ie public and private investment, aligns with global calls for <strong>green financing frameworks.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus Areas Beyond Desertification: <\/strong>Additional declarations include biodiversity conservation, ocean protection, water management, circular economy, pollution control, and resilient infrastructure.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It reflects a <strong>holistic environmental governance approach<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>UNCCD and COP17 (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Aug 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UNCCD is the <strong>primary global convention<\/strong> addressing desertification, land degradation and drought.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Investment needed<\/strong> for restoration (2025\u201330): $1 billion per day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UNCCD COP16<\/strong> (2024, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): $12 billion was pledged for land restoration; India showcased the <strong>Aravalli Green Wall<\/strong> initiative.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Theme (2026):<\/strong> \u2018Restoring Land, Restoring Hope\u2019.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expected outcomes<\/strong>: Translating commitments into action, and focusing on vulnerable regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other Institutional Mechanisms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bonn Challenge (2011): <\/strong>Global pledge to restore 350 million hectares by 2030<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: <\/strong>Targets 2 and 11 address land restoration<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021\u201330): <\/strong>Joint UNEP-FAO initiative<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>G20 Global Land Initiative: <\/strong>Aligned with India&#8217;s G20 Presidency (2022) goal to reduce degraded land by 50% by 2040<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/environment\/g7-puts-desertification-at-centre-of-environmental-agenda-flags-land-crisis-as-global-security-threat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: DTE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Recently, the G7 Environment Ministers have elevated desertification, land degradation and drought to the core of their agenda, and termed these conditions \u2018systemic global challenges\u2019 and \u2018security risk multipliers\u2019. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Key Highlights of Declaration <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Scale of the Crisis: Desertification, land degradation and drought leads to declining soil fertility, water scarcity, and loss of ecosystem services. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It directly threatens food security and livelihoods, particularly in agrarian economies. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Nearly 40% of global land is degraded, affecting about 3.2 billion people. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-04-2026\/desertification-g7 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72404"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72406,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72404\/revisions\/72406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}