United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)- COP15 of UNCCD

COP15 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

COP 15 of UNCCD- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Recently, India’s Environment Minister addressed the opening plenary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of Parties at its fifteenth session (COP 15) in Cote d’Ivoire.
At COP 15 of the UNCCD, he said that taking care of the land that sustains us can help the fight against global warming and also pitched for promoting lifestyles for environment.

On Historic Responsibility: India said that protecting both people and the planet will not be possible without the developed countries taking the lead in drastic emissions reduction.
- This is because of their responsibility for global warming is the highest both historically and in the present.
Impact of COVID-19: It has compounded the challenge of fighting global warming as economic pressures have delayed or slowed climate action across the world.
IPCC Report: It pointed out that the world is exhausting its remaining carbon budget at a rapid pace, pushing us closer to the temperature limits of the Paris Agreement.

During India’s presidency of UNFCC, India has made significant progress in its commitment to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- Many major initiatives have been launched and existing programmes strengthened in meeting India’s Land Degradation Neutrality targets.
Soil Health Card (SHC): India has enhanced monitoring the health of its soils through the Soil Health Card Programme implemented throughout the country.
- Over 229 million Soil Health Cards have been issued to farmers between 2015 and 2019.
- Soil Health Card (SHC) program has led to a decline of 8-10% in the use of chemical fertilizers and also raised productivity by 5-6%.
Following the global call for the submission of nominations for World Restoration Flagships, the Government of India endorsed six restoration flagships that target the restoration of 12.5 million hectares of degraded lands.

About: The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022.
COP 15 Theme: The COP15 theme, ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity’, is a call to action to ensure land, the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.
Participation: COP 15 of UNCCD will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society and other key stakeholders from around the world.
Mandate: COP15 of UNCCD to drive progress in the future sustainable management of land and will explore links between land and other key sustainability issues.
UNCCD COP 15 Agenda: Drought, land restoration, and related enablers such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment are among the top items on the Conference agenda.
Significance: COP15 is expected to galvanize sustainable solutions for land restoration and drought resilience, with a strong focus on future-proofing land use.

Background: The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), was established in 1994.
About: UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
Scope: UNCCD Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands.
New UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework: It is the most comprehensive global commitment to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to-
- Restore the productivity of vast expanses of degraded land,
- Improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and
- Reduce the impacts of drought on vulnerable populations to build.

shivam