Current Science

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Land degradation is a global problem caused by a variety of factors or processes which include soil erosion by water/wind, deterioration in physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and loss of its productive potential. Worldwide about 2 billion hectare of degraded lands has opportunities of restoration1. Estimates of degraded land in India vary from 30 to 175 million hectare (m ha) (ref. 2). Among the Indian States, Uttarakhand, a predominantly mountainous State, ranks 20th in terms of area under wasteland, which has 23.91% area under degraded land3. The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 m ha of deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020 and 350 m ha by 2030, contributing to the international commitments on climate change, biodiversity conservation and land degradation4. India was one of the first countries in Asia to commit to the Bonn Challenge, pledging to bring under restoration 13 m ha land by 2020 and another 8 m ha land by 2030 at COP21 of UNFCCC in Paris.
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