<span style="color: #222222;">Environment Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav has said, despite COVID pandemic, India as President of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP-14 made significant contributions in bringing the nations together toward the global goal of halting and reversing land degradation. Mr Yadav is leading an Indian delegation at the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the UNCCD at Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire. Mr Yadav will address the high-level segment, including a Heads of States Summit.<br />''<br />''India had hosted the fourteenth session of Conference of Parties of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification from 2nd to 13th September 2019 in New Delhi and is the current President of the same.<br />''<br />''At COP-14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would raise its ambition of the total area that would be restored from its land degradation status, from twenty-one million hectares to twenty-six million hectares between now and 2030.<br />''<br />''A High-level Dialogue of United Nations General Assembly held on 14th June 2021 on desertification, land degradation, and drought, was addressed by Mr Modi wherein he highlighted the success stories and initiatives taken by India to combat land degradation.<br />''<br />''In another significant development during India's presidency, G-20 leaders recognizing the importance of combating land degradation and creating new carbon sinks, put up an aspirational goal to collectively plant one trillion trees, urging other countries to join forces with G-20 to reach this global goal by 2030.<br />''<br />''The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, which began yesterday will continue till 20th of this month. It will bring together leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders from around the world to drive progress in the future sustainable management of land and will explore links between land and other key sustainability issues.<br />''<br />''Through its decisions adopted by UNCCD's 197 Parties, COP-15 is expected to galvanize sustainable solutions for land restoration and drought resilience, with a strong focus on future-proofing land use.</span><br />