India’s Restoration Milestone on World Day to Combat Desertification
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav addressed a gathering at Indira Paryavaran Bhawan on 17 June 2026 to mark the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. He outlined India’s achievements in land‑restoration, emphasising that policy, science and public participation together can drive sustainable development.
Key Developments
- India has restored 21.76 million hectares of degraded land, moving towards the 26 million‑hectare target set for 2030 under the Bonn Challenge.
- More than 1.22 billion person‑days of employment have been generated through restoration activities.
- The Aravalli Green Wall Initiative exceeded its FY 2025‑26 targets.
- Under the PMKSY Watershed Development Component, over 27 million hectares have been treated.
- Joint Forest Management now covers about 81.53 million hectares, making it one of the world’s largest community‑based forest programmes.
Important Facts
Other notable figures released by the Minister include:
- Green India Mission: 1.7 lakh hectares greened.
- CAMPA‑supported afforestation: 3.20 lakh hectares over the past five years.
- Agroforestry: 1.21 lakh hectares brought under practice.
- Bamboo plantations outside forests: nearly 60,000 hectares.
- ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ has seen over 266 crore saplings planted.
- Target to restore 54,000 hectares of mangroves by 2028 under the MISHTI programme.
- More than 260 million Soil Health Cards issued to aid soil‑health monitoring.
Exam Relevance
Understanding these initiatives is crucial for several UPSC topics:
- International environmental treaties – the role of UNCCD and India’s commitments.
- Concept of Land Degradation Neutrality and its measurement.
- Community‑based forest management – the scale and impact of JFM.
- Nature‑based solutions – how programmes like the Green India Mission contribute to climate resilience.
Way Forward
The Minister stressed that achieving the 2030 target will require:
- Continued scientific monitoring using platforms such as Bhuvan, VEDAS and Yuktdhara.
- Greater community participation through schemes like JFM and agroforestry.
- Innovative financing mechanisms and nature‑based solutions to scale up restoration.
- Focused attention on rangelands, wetlands and mangroves, aligning with the theme “Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.”.
By integrating policy, technology and grassroots action, India aims to secure ecosystem health, livelihoods and climate resilience for future generations.