Bonn Challenge

Current Affair 1:

Bonn Challenge

News:

Through the release of a new report on India’s Progress towards meeting Bonn Challenge goals, the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change made history -- announcing 21.76 million hectares brought under restoration against the largest ever Bonn Challenge pledge of 26 million hectares. 

What is the Bonn Challenge?

The Origin: Launched in 2011 by the Government of Germany and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The IUCN serves as its Secretariat.

The Global Targets:

1. To restore 150 million hectares of the world's degraded and deforested landscapes by 2020 (Surpassed in terms of global pledges).
2. To restore 350 million hectares by 2030 (Aligned with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration).

It does not focus on simple, standalone tree-planting (conventional afforestation). Instead, it pioneers Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR)—a holistic approach that aims to restore ecological functionality, balance soil and water security, and simultaneously enhance the livelihoods of local, rural communities.

It serves as a practical implementation platform to meet the goals of the three Rio Conventions—the UNFCCC (Climate Change), CBD (Biodiversity conservation, including the Post-2020 Framework), and UNCCD (Combating Desertification).

India's Commitments and Current Status:

1. In 2015, India initially pledged to restore 13 million hectares by 2020, plus an additional 8 million hectares by 2030 (Totaling 21 million hectares).
2. During the UNCCD COP-14 (held in New Delhi in 2019), Prime Minister Narendra Modi enhanced India’s total target ambition to 26 million hectares by 2030—making it the largest pledge globally.

 

Current Progress:

According to India’s Second Progress Report on the Bonn Challenge (released by MoEFCC and IUCN), India has already brought 21.76 million hectares of degraded land under active restoration.

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