India Calls for Diversified International Finance for Land Restoration at UNCCD CoP17
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav presented India's position on financing mechanisms for land restoration and drought resilience at the 17th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Minister emphasized that "land restoration is not a cost, but an investment in food, water, biodiversity, livelihoods and long-term resilience" and stressed the need for diversified, predictable and sustained sources of finance beyond public budgets, along with stronger public-private partnerships.
India's Blended Green-Finance Framework
Minister Yadav highlighted India's blended green-finance framework which enables financing for climate-change adaptation, sustainable land use, forestry and agriculture, afforestation and biodiversity conservation. He specifically mentioned Sovereign Green Bonds as an avenue to mobilize capital for land restoration, drought resilience, sustainable forestry and other environmental and climate priorities.
Green Credit Programme and Compensatory Conservation
The Minister detailed India's Green Credit Programme that enables public and private entities to finance restoration of degraded forest land. Credits are issued after five years of restoration and upon achieving at least 40 percent canopy density, and may be used once for compensatory afforestation, statutory plantation or CSR obligations. India's compensatory conservation regime channels payments received for forest diversion toward compensatory afforestation and ecosystem restoration, while corporate funding is integrated by the environmental regulatory processes.
Whole-of-Government Approach and International Finance Needs
Shri Yadav underscored the importance of convergence, noting that bringing public and private finance together through mechanisms such as the Green Credit Programme and compensatory afforestation funds represents a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach. He emphasized that "Finance must be continuous, verifiable and connected to local communities" and noted that while India's experience demonstrates what committed domestic resources can achieve, this cannot substitute for additional, adequate and predictable international finance for restoration and drought resilience.
India reaffirmed its commitment to sharing its experience, safeguards, institutional arrangements, lessons learned and areas requiring course correction, with the ultimate measure of innovative finance being whether it reaches the land, ecosystems and communities that need it most and delivers lasting restoration and resilience.