In a significant move towards combating land degradation and promoting sustainable land management practices, India has inaugurated the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM) at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun.
Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Government of India, attended the CoE-SLM's formal inauguration on May 20, 2019. The CoE-SLM strives to enhance South-South cooperation and address land degradation challenges through sustainable land management practices. It is consistent with the Indian government's environmental protection and climate change mitigation objective.
The CoE-SLM, located at the ICFRE in Dehradun, aims to restore degraded land by providing technical support, capacity building, and knowledge sharing at the national and sub-national levels. By collaborating with developing countries that are party to the UNCCD, the CoE-SLM seeks to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets, promote south-south cooperation, and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by international conventions.
The CoE-SLM has outlined specific objectives to guide its actions. These include assessing land degradation, capacity building on sustainable land management frameworks aligned with the SDGs, and strengthening the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of land-based indicators specified by the UNCCD.
Furthermore, the centre aims to set LDN targets, develop drought risk and early warning systems, mainstream gender considerations, promote good governance of land tenure and rights, and assess the impacts of land degradation on greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.
During the inauguration, the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change also released two publications: "Technical Paper on Pathway to Achieve LDN in India" and "Compendium of Sustainable Land Management Practices." The event was attended by key officials, including Chandra Prakash Goel, Director General of Forest and Special Secretary, B.K. Singh, Addl. Director General of Forests (NAEB, GIM), other representatives from the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, officials from the Uttarakhand State Forest Department, and scientists from ICFRE.
The launch of the CoE-SLM marks a significant step by India toward addressing land degradation and promoting sustainable land management.
With its focus on collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge sharing, the centre is expected to play a crucial role in achieving LDN targets and contributing to global efforts in combating desertification and climate change.
