New Delhi: On the concluding day of 14th session of Conference of Parties (COP-14) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Union Minister of Environment Prakash Javadekar said that commitments in Delhi Declaration were individual targets set by countries themselves, so there would be no question of anybody backing out.
196 countries and the European Union adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration', on Friday, after extensive deliberations that lasted over 12 days of COP-14.
The participating countries agreed that land degradation is a major economic, social and environmental problem.
These countries also welcomed the strengthening of the adoption of voluntary land degradation neutrality targets which includes the restoration of degraded land by 2030.
According to the Delhi Declaration, "Land based solutions should be used for climate action and biodiversity conservation. The implementation of the three Rio Conventions on Climate, Biodiversity and Desertification should be implemented in a mutually supportive manner."
"It is a powerful document. Parties have finally woken up to the challenge of droughts which are set to become more frequent and more intense in the upcoming years," said the Executive Secretary, UNCCD, Ibrahim Thiaw.
The Declaration states that parties will also take a proactive approach to drought preparedness plans, encourage local governments to adopt integrated land use management and land governance.
Thiaw added, "The business case has been made very clear, that we need to manage land restoration, so communities are not deprived of land rights. We need to put people first- women, children, the health of people and create conditions of peace and prosperity."
The countries were also convinced that participation from civil society organizations, local government and private sector would be crucial to achieving the objectives of UNCCD.
Javadekar said that COP-14 was "flawless" with no controversies. Regarding the land rights of millions of forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act, the Union Minister said, "Government believes and is committed to giving titles to all legitimate forest dwellers."
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