24 September 2020
Introduction:
Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javdekar attended Ministerial Roundtable Dialogue on biodiversity hosted by China on 24 September via video conferencing.He emphasised that India has enhanced the Forest cover with 25% of total geographical area of the country. India now has largest population of wild tiger with tiger population doubling up in 11 years.
Highlights:
The dialogue was conducted on Biodiversity Beyond 2020: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth. The dialogue was held a week ahead of the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity to exchange views on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. More than 15 ministers from different countries participated in the dialogue.
About the Dialogue:
- India has been taking leadership role in conservation of biodiversity by hosting conference of parties (COP). India hosted the United Nations convention to Combat Desertification COP in September 2019 and Conservation of Migratory Species COP in February 2020.
- India accounts to 8% of recorded species in the world with just 2.4% of land area.
- India has enhanced its forest cover to 25%
- India has set a target to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land and also achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030
- The tiger population in India has doubled in the last 11 years. Currently, India has the largest wild tiger population.
- India has set up 250,000 Biodiversity Management Committee all over the country to access the benefits of Convention on Biological Diversity and also to document bio diversity in the country
The 15th conference of parties to the convention on Biological Diversity is to be held at Kunming, China in 2021. It will adopt post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
United Nations Summit on Biodiversity
It is to be convened on September 30, 2020. This year the summit is to be held under the theme
Theme: Urgent Action on biodiversity for Sustainable Development
- According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the species extension rates are ten to hundred times as compared to the historical averages.
- The summit will mainly discuss on the actions that are required to restore the mother earth. Around 75% of earth’s land has been altered.