<span style="color: #222222;">Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has said, India is striving towards achieving the national commitment of Land Degradation Neutrality and restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.<br />''<br />''This focusses on sustainable and optimum utilisation of land resources. He said, public participation will play a crucial role in achieving this feat as India is building the future road map for combating desertification.<br />''<br />''Addressing the Desertification and Drought Day-2022 being organised by the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry in New Delhi today, the Minister highlighted that India has been at the forefront of bringing the issue of land degradation to the core of relevant International alliances for protection and conservation of environment.<br />''<br />''AIR correspondent reports that India hosted the 14th Session of Conference of Parties (COP-14) of United Nations Convention to combat desertification in September 2019, in which deliberation was made on recommendations of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on Drought for COP-15.<br />''<br />''The Ministry commemorates this day every year with an aim to generate large-scale awareness for understanding the key role of land in all environmental and economic concerns that world, as well as India is facing nowadays. Theme of this year's Desertification and Drought Day is 'Rising Up from Drought Together.'</span><br />