NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India is on track to achieve its national commitment of land degradation neutrality.“We are on track to achieve our national commitment of land degradation neutrality. We are also working towards restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030,” he said during his virtual keynote address at the High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“This would contribute to India’s commitment to achieve an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbondioxide equivalent,” he said and added that land is fundamental for supporting livelihoods and if degradation is left unchecked, it would erode the foundations of society.
Saying that in India and Indians have always given importance to land and considered sacred earth as ‘mother’, Modi said that there is a need to promote indigenous techniques to reduce land degradation.“Land degradation poses a special challenge for the developed world. Keeping the global South-South cooperation in mind, we are assisting developing nations to curb land degradation. A centre of excellence is also being set up in India for the same,” the prime minister said in his address.