India's Land Restoration Progress Against Bonn Challenge Targets
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav announced at the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2026 event that India has brought 21.76 million hectares of land under restoration efforts against its Bonn Challenge target of restoring 26 million hectares by 2030. This represents one of the largest restoration commitments in the world, originally announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The restoration activities have generated approximately 1.22 billion person-days of employment across various initiatives. Significant achievements include over 27 million hectares treated under the Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, with more than 61.3 million geo-tagged natural resource management assets created. The Green India Mission has covered approximately 1.7 lakh hectares, while CAMPA-supported activities have resulted in afforestation over around 3.20 lakh hectares during the past five years.
Key Environmental Initiatives and Programs
The Aravalli Green Wall Initiative has emerged as an important landscape-level restoration program and has surpassed its annual targets during financial year 2025-26. Under the MISHTI programme, a target has been set to restore 54,000 hectares of mangrove area by 2028. Joint Forest Management covers about 81.53 million hectares, representing one of the largest community-based forest management systems globally. Additional efforts include over 1.21 lakh hectares brought under agroforestry and bamboo plantations established outside forests over nearly 60,000 hectares.
Prime Minister Modi's "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign has resulted in more than 266 crore saplings planted across the country. The government has issued more than 260 million Soil Health Cards to help prevent desertification. Platforms such as Bhuvan, VEDAS and Yuktdhara are enabling science-based planning and monitoring of these initiatives.
Land Degradation Statistics and Challenges
According to the India Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas, 97.85 million hectares of land, representing 29.77% of the country's geographical area, are affected by land degradation and desertification. India's drylands extend across approximately 228 million hectares, which are critically important for agriculture, livestock rearing and rural livelihoods. This year's observance theme "Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore." highlights the importance of rangelands and grasslands for biodiversity conservation, livestock-based livelihoods, water cycle regulation, carbon sequestration and climate resilience.
Publications and International Collaboration
On the occasion, Minister Yadav released a Special Issue of Indian Forester and India's Second Progress Report on the Bonn Challenge (2011–2020). The Special Issue, prepared in the context of the forthcoming UNCCD COP-17 and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, brings together scientific insights, policy perspectives and field experiences on sustainable land management, ecosystem restoration and Land Degradation Neutrality. The Bonn Challenge report was prepared by MoEFCC in collaboration with IUCN and presents a comprehensive assessment of India's progress towards its restoration commitments, documenting efforts across States and Union Territories.
The event brought together approximately 200 participants including representatives of Central and State Governments, research institutions, international organisations, development partners, civil society organisations and technical experts. Dr. Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative UNDP, appreciated India's initiatives and reaffirmed UNDP's support in advancing nature-based solutions.
India's priorities include landscape-level restoration, drought resilience, science-based monitoring, community participation, nature-based solutions and innovative financing mechanisms for restoration. The deliberations underscored that achieving Land Degradation Neutrality and India's enhanced Bonn Challenge target will require continued collaboration among governments, local communities, research institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners.