Why restoring degraded land is critical for India

It will help provide livelihoods, tackle climate change, protect infrastructure

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India will restore 26 million hectares (ha) of degraded land by 2030, taking up the target by five million ha from the current 21 million ha. He was speaking at the ongoing 14th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP14 UNCCD). Of the 196 countries that are party to the UNCCD, 122, including India, have agreed to become land degradation neutral — a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases — by 2030.

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s land atlas 2016, about 96 million hectares, or 29.23%, of India’s land area is undergoing degradation. This is caused by deforestation, wetland drainage, overgrazing, unsustainable land-use practices, the expansion of agricultural, industrial and urban areas, and, now, climate change. Reversing this is critical, for degraded land loses the ability to support plant life, and provide ecosystem services such as management of water systems and storage of carbon dioxide, one of the six main greenhouse gases. Second, India spends a huge amount of money on infrastructure, key to economic opportunities. But these enablers — such as roads and bridges — are often destroyed by rampaging floodwaters and excessive rainfall, both linked to climate change. If India wants to protect its crucial investments, it needs to tackle climate, and reversing land degradation is key to doing it.

Third, tackling land degradation will improve livelihood opportunities of 60% of India’s population, which depends on agriculture and related activities. For successive governments, poverty alleviation has been a key agenda. And that goal will not succeed if two basic units of livelihood, land and water, are not taken cared for by the government — and the people.