UNCCD 15th session of the Conference of the Parties
Recently the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has led the Indian delegation to the COP-15 conference on the prevention of desertification.
The 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Prevention of Desertification (UNCCD) (COP-15) has begun in Abidjan, Cote D Ivoire.
The theme of COP15 is “Land- Life- Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity”.
The theme calls for action to ensure that the land (the lifeline of the planet) continues to benefit present and future generations.
In COP-15, the 197 parties to the UNCCD will discuss issues such as drought, land reclamation and related issues such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment.
COP15 will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector and civil society, and other key stakeholders from around the world. These will look at accelerating the progress of sustainable land management in the future.
In the year 2019, India hosted the COP-14 of the UNCCD.
In the COP-14 conference, India had set a target of restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
The theme of COP-14 was “Restore land, Sustain future”. The United Nations Convention for the Prevention of Desertification (UNCCD) was adopted in the year 1994. Its purpose is to protect and regenerate our land and ensure a safer, equitable and more sustainable future.
It is the only legally binding international agreement to address the effects of desertification and drought. It emphasizes on solving the problems of arid, semi-arid and arid sub-humid regions (known as arid lands). Some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems and vulnerable people are found in these areas.
Its permanent secretariat is located in Bonn, Germany.
India and UNCCD
- India is a signatory country to UNCCD.
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal ministry for the implementation of this convention in India. This Ministry oversees the implementation of this Convention in the country.
Source – The Hindu
