NCCF joins hands with UNCCD, IUCN and MoEF&CC in observing the UN Desertification and Drought Day on 17th June 2020
Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests, a Member of IUCN and PEFC Council, having CSO Observer Status with the UNCCD, has joined hands with the UNCCD, IUCN and MoEF&CC and in observing UN Desertification and Drought Day, focusing on theme “Food, Feed, Fibre”, on 17th June 2020.
This year’s observance is focused on changing public attitudes to the leading driver of desertification and land degradation i.e. humanity’s relentless production and consumption. As populations become larger, wealthier and more urban, there is far greater demand for land to provide food, animal feed and fibre for clothing. To have enough productive land to meet the demands of ten billion people by 2050, lifestyles need to change.
Conservation challenges during and post COVID-19 call for adopting sustainable lifestyles; adopting sensible consumerism, going back to the villages and hills (reverse migration), need for a decentralised economy; high priority to local industries, MSMEs, green growth; focus on climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and prudent management of natural resources.
Under the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to bring 350 mha of world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2030, India had pledged to a restoration target of 21 mha by 2030. In the recent COP 14 of UNCCD held in India, Hon’ble Prime Minister had announced that India will raise its ambition of total degraded areas that will be restored from 21 mha to 26 mha by 2030, which will also support India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under Climate Change commitments to achieve additional carbon sink of 2.5-3.0 billion tonnes.
NCCF, a not for profit organization of India, is actively engaged in diverse conservation activities including, development of globally benchmarked and India specific sustainability certification standards for various constituents of our natural resource base, viz. forests, trees outside forests, non-wood forest produce, protected areas and wetlands, land degradation neutrality, ecotourism and biomass & biofuels, as its core working area. Implementation of these standards, which are effective tools for sustainable management of natural resources, will go a long way in mitigating the climate change, combating desertification and conserving our rich biodiversity.
NCCF has taken the initiative of developing certification standard for Land Degradation Neutrality, which shall be used to accelerate the transition towards sustainable agroforestry and land restoration. A coordinated action will certainly help in convergence of the objectives of three conventions, UNCCD, UNCBD and UNFCCC.
To deal with COVID 19 and recurrence of such pandemics in future, we need revamped approaches and frameworks for conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources. Technology based solutions and certification of natural resources offer immense potential to accelerating sustainable development, promoting Sustainable Forest Management, NDC commitments and meeting the objectives of various international commitments.
On this day, an occasion for health and productivity of land action by all, NCCF rededicates itself to the cause of controlling Land Degradation and helping in combating Desertification by creating a people led movement for certification.