Why in news?
- India has launched a pilot project to restore degraded forest landscapes in five states under forest landscape restoration (FLR) project.
What is it?
- In the first phase, the pilot project will be conducted in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Karnataka.
- It is launched in partnership with the IUCN which aims to enhance the capacity on forest landscape restoration (FLR) by developing and adapting best practices for sustainable land management following protocols to combat desertification.
- The project is part of the Bonn Challenge pledge, which was undertaken by India in 2015, to restore 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, and another 8 million hectares by 2030.
- This is one of the highest targets among all Asian countries.
About Bonn challenge:
- The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.
- It was launched in 2011 by the Government of Germany and IUCN.
- It was later endorsed and extended by the New York Declaration on Forests at the 2014 UN Climate Summit.
- Underlying the Bonn Challenge is the FLR approach, which aims to restore ecological integrity at the same time as improving human well-being through multifunctional landscapes.
- The Bonn Challenge is not a new global commitment but rather a practical means of realizing many existing international commitments, including the CBD Aichi Target 15, the UNFCCC REDD+ goal, and the Rio+20 land degradation neutrality goal.
About FLR:
- Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is the ongoing process of regaining ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes.
- FLR aims to meet present and future needs and to offer multiple benefits and land uses over time.
- A majority of restoration opportunities are found on or adjacent to agricultural or pastoral land.
- FLR manifests through different processes such as: new tree plantings, managed natural regeneration, agroforestry or improved land management to accommodate a mosaic of land uses, including agriculture, protected wildlife reserves, managed plantations, riverside plantings etc…
