One-third of the world\u2019s land, some four billion hectares, is degraded. In India degradation has hit 96 million hectares, 29.32% of the country. Almost all countries have signed a pledge to reach \u201cnet zero degradation\u201d by 2030, which means restoring as much land as is degraded. How are they going to do it?<\/p>\n
That is the crux of the agenda at a major UN summit on desertification being held on the outskirts of New Delhi from 2-13 September.\u00a0The\u00a0biennial summit, which is\u00a0known as the Conference\u00a0of Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD<\/a>), was last hosted by China in Ordos, Inner Mongolia.<\/p>\n Prakash Javadekar, India\u2019s minister for environment, forests and climate change, and president of the COP, announced recently that India would restore five million hectares of degraded land by 2030, and \u201censure that there is no net loss in terms of land degradation.\u201d<\/p>\n Land degradation is worsening because of poor land management practices, such as overgrazing and deforestation, and climate change. This has wide-reaching implications for food security, migration and even conflict.<\/p>\nDeteriorating earth<\/h2>\n