New Delhi, India: India has launched its first comprehensive guide to grasslands and other open natural ecosystems at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The guide documents the diversity, ecological importance and socio-economic role of India’s grasslands, savannas, deserts, scrublands and other open natural ecosystems. It is intended to support their conservation, restoration and sustainable management.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who addressed the launch through a video message, highlighted the importance of recognising ecosystems that have historically received less attention because of their limited tree cover. He noted that grasslands and related landscapes support biodiversity, pastoral communities and climate resilience.
The guide was launched during a COP17 side event organised under the guidance of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The event and publication were organised by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and Space Applications Centre, ISRO.
The publication covers the geographical and ecological characteristics of major open natural ecosystems across India, along with their biodiversity and the communities and tribes associated with them. It also examines pastoralism, fire ecology and carbon sequestration.
India’s open natural ecosystems include Himalayan and Terai grasslands, the Thar and Banni landscapes, Deccan savannas, rocky plateaus, ravines, scrublands, coastal ecosystems and deserts. These areas contribute to soil and water processes, store carbon in their soils and support pastoral, livestock-based and agricultural livelihoods.
Discussions at the event focused on grassland and dryland restoration, rangeland governance, climate resilience and landscape-level conservation. The launch also highlighted the need for stronger scientific assessment and planning to support India’s Land Degradation Neutrality targets.
Source: This article is based on an official press release issued by the Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Press Release: Press Information Bureau
