Plan For Degradation and Desertification
India as a signatory to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has submitted four National Reports to UNCCD in the years 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2010. The fourth report was submitted in the year 2010. The National Action Programme for combating desertification was prepared in 2001 to take appropriate action in addressing the problems of desertification.
As per the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, 2007, the percentage of country under drylands is 69.6%. The total area undergoing the process of land degradation in India is 105.48 million hectares, which constitutes 32.07 percentage of India’s total land area.
81.45 million hectares area of the country is under desertification (land degradation within drylands). The details of drylands undergoing desertification are given below:
Arid - 34.89 million hectares
Semi-Arid - 31.99 million hectares
Dry sub-humid - 14.57 million hectares
There are number of programmes that address issues related to land degradation and desertification. Some of the major programmes, being implemented currently are as follows:
Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), National Afforestation Programme (NAP), National Mission for Green India (GIM), The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Soil Conservation in the Catchment of River Valley Project and Flood Prone River, National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), Fodder and Feed Development Scheme-component of Grassland Development including Grass Reserves, Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) programme etc.
The above information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests, Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan to the Parliament today.
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