- Why in news
- On 17 June 2026, World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India has brought 21.76 million hectares under restoration against its 26 million hectare Bonn Challenge target, and released India's Second Progress Report on the Bonn Challenge.
- What it is
- The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to restore degraded and deforested landscapes. The UNCCD is the UN convention that deals with desertification, land degradation and drought, and India is a Party to it. India's pledge under the Bonn Challenge is linked to its Land Degradation Neutrality goals.
- Bonn Challenge
- A global initiative launched in 2011 with a goal of restoring 350 million hectares by 2030.
- India's progress
- India has brought 21.76 Mha under restoration against a 26 Mha target for 2030.
- World Day
- The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed on 17 June under the UNCCD.
- Land degradation in India
- As per the India Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas, 97.85 Mha (29.77% of the geographical area) is affected.
- UNCCD
- The UNCCD was adopted in 1994 and is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
Don’t confuse with Bonn Challenge vs UNCCD: The Bonn Challenge is a voluntary restoration initiative with a global target. The UNCCD is a legally binding UN convention with Parties and COPs.
Don’t confuse with World Day to Combat Desertification (17 June) vs World Environment Day (5 June): Both are UN observances but fall on different dates and have different focus.
International bodies and relations: the largest group of news questions in Prelims (61 since 2013), often about background, members and location. In Mains, 27 news-triggered questions, mostly on India's interests.
Why it matters
- Restoration supports Land Degradation Neutrality, carbon sequestration and rural livelihoods.
- It generates employment, with about 1.22 billion person-days reported.
Problems
- Nearly 29.77% of India's area is affected by degradation and desertification.
- Sustaining restoration needs finance, community participation and monitoring.
Way forward
- Use science-based monitoring and landscape-level restoration with community participation.
- Expand innovative financing and nature-based solutions.
Put in your answer
Land degradation extent: 97.85 Mha, 29.77% of India's area, is affected by land degradation and desertification.
Employment from restoration: Restoration activities have generated about 1.22 billion person-days of employment.
Joint Forest Management: JFM covers about 81.53 Mha and is among the largest community-based forest management systems.
- 2020Mains GS1 · Q17Examine India's forest resource status and its climate change impact
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q8Kunming-Montreal framework aims, and India's commitments and initiatives
- 2020Mains GS1 · Q5Justify that desertification has no climatic boundaries, with examples
- 2015Prelims Q74Statements on Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and REDD+ support
- 2026Prelims Q40First Plan Vivo certified REDD+ forest project in India
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Pairs
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following pairs:
- 1.Bonn Challenge — Global initiative launched in 2011 with a goal of restoring 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030
- 2.World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought — Observed every year on 5 June
- 3.United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification — Legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
True or false?
1 of 6
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The Bonn Challenge is a global initiative launched in 2011 that aims to bring 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested land under restoration by 2030.
True. Launched in 2011; global target 350 Mha by 2030.
2.India's pledge under the Bonn Challenge is to restore 26 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030.
True. India's pledge is 26 Mha by 2030.
3.India's Second Progress Report on the Bonn Challenge was prepared by MoEFCC in collaboration with IUCN.
True. MoEFCC prepared it with IUCN.
4.The Bonn Challenge was launched under the UNCCD as its legally binding protocol.
False. The Bonn Challenge is a voluntary global initiative, not a binding protocol of UNCCD; it was launched by Germany and IUCN.
5.The UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
True. UNCCD (1994) is legally binding and links environment, development and sustainable land management.
6.According to the India Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas cited in the release, about 29.77 per cent of India's geographical area is affected by land degradation and desertification.
True. 97.85 Mha, or 29.77%, is affected.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Source: PIB, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change., 17 Jun, 12:24 IST · Release 290120
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.