G7 Declaration on Desertification | World Tapir Day

G7 Declaration on Desertification

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• Recently, the G7 Environment Ministers have elevated desertification, land degradation and drought to the core of their agenda, and termed these conditions ‘systemic global challenges’ and ‘security risk multipliers’.

Key Highlights of Declaration

• Scale of the Crisis: Desertification, land degradation and drought leads to declining soil fertility, water scarcity, and loss of ecosystem services.
• It directly threatens food security and livelihoods, particularly in agrarian economies.
• Nearly 40% of global land is degraded, affecting about 3.2 billion people.

Additional information- UNCCD and COP17 (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Aug 2026)

United Nations Convention to combat Desertification (UNCCD)

• Established in – 1994
• Objective – To combat desertification and It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment to sustainable land management.
• Significance – To maintain and restore the land and soil reproductively.
• June 17 – It is observed as the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCDD).
• UNCCD COP16 (2024, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia): $12 billion was pledged for land restoration; India showcased the Aravalli Green Wall initiative.
• Theme (2026): ‘Restoring Land, Restoring Hope’.

Other Institutional Mechanisms

• Bonn Challenge (2011): Global pledge to restore 350 million hectares by 2030
• Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: Targets 2 and 11 address land restoration
• UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–30): Joint UNEP-FAO initiative
• G20 Global Land Initiative: Aligned with India’s G20 Presidency (2022) goal to reduce degraded land by 50% by 2040

World Tapir Day

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

In News

• Recently, World Tapir Day was observed globally to raise awareness about Tapirs.

Tapirs

• Tapirs are large herbivorous mammals.
• Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia.
• Tapirs form an important part of the ecosystem as seed dispersers and form one of the oldest surviving genera in the animal kingdom.
• Threats posed are habitat loss, hunting, and human encroachment.

Types and IUCN Red List status

1. Lowland Tapir(Tapirus terrestris) – Vulnerable
2. Mountain Tapir(Tapirus pinchaque)  – Endangered
3. Malay Tapir(Tapirus indicus) – Endangered
4. Baird’s Tapir(Tapirus bairdii) –Endangered.