Why in news?
India hosted the 14th session of Conference of Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in September 2019, to address the issue of land degradation and
- COP 14 of UNCCD:
- India took over the COP presidency from China for the next two years until the next COP is hosted in 2021. The Conference adopted the Delhi Declaration. The takeaway messages are:
- Land restoration is the cheapest solution to climate change and biodiversity loss.
- Land restoration makes business sense if regulations and incentives to reward investment are in place.
- Drought preparedness and response are critical in the face of climate change.
- To put people first is to ensure gender balance, engage youth, secure land rights.
- UNCCD:
- It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
- It was established in 1994.
- Secretariat is located in Bonn, Germany.
- It specifically addresses the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands.
- All parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity and to mitigate the effects of drought.
- It is committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification and land degradation.
