Nearly 30 pc of India's land degraded; will soon set voluntary target to combat it: Env Min official

Nearly 30 per cent of India's land is degraded and a voluntary target setting for land degradation neutrality is underway, an official from the environment ministry has said.

Speaking at a land desertification workshop, organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) ahead of the COP 14 on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) scheduled next month, Anuradha Singh, Director, Desertification Cell, Ministry of Environment said, "Nearly 30 per cent of India's land is degraded and we are committed to address this challenge."
She said, "Budgets available for all land and water related schemes in Centre and States are enough to solve the problem, but we need to bring convergence to utilise these resources better. The process of voluntary target setting for Land Degradation Neutrality under the UNCCD is underway and should conclude over the next few months."