India Calls for Diversified and Predictable International Finance for Land Restoration and Drought Resilience at UNCCD CoP17.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia:
India has called for diversified, adequate, predictable and sustained international finance to address land degradation, desertification and drought, with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav highlighting the country’s innovative financing mechanisms for land restoration and drought resilience at the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Addressing the Ministerial Dialogue on “Innovative Financial Mechanisms for Healthy Land and Drought Resilience,” Yadav emphasised the need for sustained investment in land restoration and stronger public-private partnerships.
“Land restoration is not a cost, but an investment in food, water, biodiversity, livelihoods and long-term resilience,” he said.
Yadav stressed that tackling desertification, land degradation and drought at scale requires diversified, predictable and sustained sources of finance beyond public budgets. He called for greater mobilisation of private capital and stronger collaboration between governments, businesses and other stakeholders.
India’s blended green-finance framework
The Minister highlighted India’s blended green-finance framework, which supports financing for climate-change adaptation, sustainable land use, forestry and agriculture, afforestation and biodiversity conservation.
He also pointed to Sovereign Green Bonds as an important avenue for mobilising capital for land restoration, drought resilience, sustainable forestry and other environmental and climate priorities.
Yadav further highlighted India’s Green Credit Programme, which enables public and private entities to finance the restoration of degraded forest land. Under the programme, credits are issued after five years of restoration and after achieving a minimum of 40 per cent canopy density.
The credits can subsequently be used once for compensatory afforestation, statutory plantation or corporate social responsibility (CSR) obligations.
Convergence of public and private finance
The Minister also outlined India’s compensatory conservation regime, under which payments received for forest diversion are channelled towards compensatory afforestation and ecosystem restoration. Corporate funding is integrated through environmental regulatory processes.
Emphasising the importance of convergence, Yadav said that bringing public and private finance together through mechanisms such as the Green Credit Programme and compensatory afforestation funds, while involving citizens, represents a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach.
“Finance must be continuous, verifiable and connected to local communities,” he said.
Yadav noted that India’s experience demonstrates what committed domestic resources can achieve. However, he stressed that domestic efforts cannot replace the need for additional, adequate and predictable international finance for land restoration and drought resilience.
Focus on communities and lasting restoration
Concluding his address, Yadav reaffirmed India’s commitment to sharing its experience, institutional arrangements, safeguards and lessons learned with the international community, while also acknowledging areas where course correction may be required.
He said innovative financing should ultimately be assessed not merely by its design or the amount of resources mobilised, but by whether the finance reaches the land, ecosystems and communities that need it most and delivers lasting restoration and resilience.
India’s intervention at UNCCD CoP17 underlined the country’s push for financing models that combine domestic resources, private investment, institutional mechanisms and community participation to accelerate land restoration and strengthen resilience to drought and climate-related challenges.
