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'India Has Set Aside Over 17.41% of its Geographical Area for Meeting Conservation Objectives'

Rejected submission by upstart at 2021-10-15 23:48:21
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'India has set aside over 17.41% of its geographical area for meeting conservation objectives' [indiatimes.com]:

NEW DELHI: India has set aside over 17.41% of its geographical area for meeting the country’s conservation objectives and more areas are being identified to enhance this coverage, said environment minister Bhupender Yadav while virtually addressing 15th session of the UN biodiversity conference [indiatimes.com] (COP15 [indiatimes.com]). "India is committed to joining hands in shaping the global conservation policy [indiatimes.com] while making its own contribution in enhancing its conservation estate," said Yadav. The 17.41% of India’s geographical area, flagged by the minister, comprises of ecologically representative areas on land and in inland waters, as well as coastal and marine zones, especially those of particular importance for species, biodiversity and ecosystem services. The area is being conserved through ‘protected areas’ designation and management, and other area-based conservation measures. Articulating India’s commitment towards conserving biodiversity, the minister also said the country was fully committed to the global 30x30 initiative – a global effort to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030. The minister’s remarks come in the backdrop of India’s recent move to join a 'high ambition coalition (HAC) for nature and people’ to push for the 30x30 goal. Popularly known as the 30x30 target, this goal is a centrepiece of the treaty called post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Over 70 countries are part of this Coalition which would collectively work towards adopting this goal formally while arriving at the final post-2020 (2021-30) plan to protect biodiversity. The COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity [indiatimes.com] (CBD) is being held virtually from October 11 to October 15 in Kunming, China. The second part of the session will be held in-person in Kunming during April 25-May 8 next year. The COP15 is split in two parts due to Covid-19 pandemic. Addressing the high-level segment of the Conference, Yadav also reiterated India’s commitments to mainstream biodiversity across all sectors in order to conserve nature, reverse its loss and to secure a healthy planet for current and future generations. The minister said India was also committed to 'put nature, climate and one-health approach integrating animal, environmental and human health’ into the core of its post-Covid-19 recovery [indiatimes.com]. It is expected that the countries will also together work out a plan to implement the pre-2020 unfulfilled targets so that the world can reach its 30x30 goal. The fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook report, released by the UN CBD in September last year, had noted that none of the 20 agreed conservation targets of the past 10 years (2011-20) could be fully met by the word.


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