Managing natural resources, the sustainable way
On the occasion of
The overall target of achieving Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030 is envisaged through
The urgency to act: Desertification and land degradation affects lives, livelihoods and the economy
According to the State of India’s Environment report (2017) [
As the union minister Prakash Javadekar highlighted, India has around 17% of the global population, but only 2.5% of land and receives only about 1% of global rainfall, thus making it critical for the country to use its natural resources efficiently. In terms of proportion of its responsibility,
Globally, the issues of land degradation and water scarcity add up to some startling figures. According to the UN, by 2025, two-thirds of the world will be living under “water-stressed” conditions – when demand outstrips supply during certain periods. And about
In his address on the eve of the World Day to Combat Desertification, the Executive of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw highlighted,“If we take action to restore our degraded land, it will save $1.3 billion a day to invest in the education, equality and clean energy that can reduce poverty, conflict and environmental migration”.
WOTR's role in shaping land degradation efforts in India
Since its inception in 1993 the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) has been at the forefront of mobilising vulnerable communities in semi-arid and resource fragile regions to help them with regenerating the ecosystems and harvesting rainwater across the landscapes people live in. To date, WOTR has supported/ worked in
The recent annual report of the organisation elaborates on the interventions related to Sustainable Land Management as well as aligns with international conventions like the UNCCD, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development [
WOTR has been accredited as a civil society knowledge partner by the UNCCD and engages frequently at the national level with the focal point at Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India as well at international forums like the UNCCD Conference of Parties (COP) with technical as well as policy advocacy inputs. For instance, its pioneering work in participatory and inter-disciplinary approaches to combating desertification and land degradation was highlighted in the 2018 publication
In the recent
WOTR is also engaged in
Arjuna Srinidhi, is a Senior Researcher at WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies (W-CReS)