Context: On the World Environment Day 2025, the Prime Minister of India planted the first sapling (Sindoor/Vermillion tree) in Delhi's Ridge to officially launch the Aravalli Green Wall Project to restore the Aravalli mountain range.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about the Aravalli Green Wall Project; United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD); National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation.
Aravalli Green Wall Project
- Aim: Restore the 700-km Aravalli mountain range’s ecology through reforestation and conservation efforts across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
- To create a 1400 km-long, 5 km-wide green belt inspired by Africa's Great Green Wall.
- The project will use innovative plantation techniques, and that all plantation activities will be geo-tagged and monitored via the Meri LiFE portal to ensure transparency and effectiveness.
Key initiatives under the Project:
- Plant native species, revive 75 water bodies, and bolster soil conservation targeting 1.1 million hectares by 2027.
- Expand green cover in a 5-km buffer zone along the Aravalli range
- Develop around 1,000 nurseries to support continuous plantation drives and engage local communities.
- Transform the region into a thriving hub for eco-tourism and sustainable travel.
Significance:
- Green barriers would prevent eastward expansion of the Thar Desert, prevent soil erosion, desertification and dust storms.
- Enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services by planting native tree species, providing habitat for wildlife and improving water quality and quantity.
- Help in carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change.
- Promote sustainable development and livelihood opportunities by involving local communities in afforestation, agro-forestry and water conservation activities.
- Contribute to India's commitments under various international conventions such as:
- UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)
- CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity)
- UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
- Enhance India's image as a global leader in environmental protection and green development.
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):
- Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
- The convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands.
- UNCCD is committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification and land degradation.
- The member parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.
- UNCCD collaborates closely with the other two Rio Conventions: UNCBD and UNFCCC to meet these complex challenges with an integrated approach and the best possible use of natural resources.
National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation:
- The National Action Plan to Combat Desertification 2023 takes due consideration of India’s commitments for:
- Restoration of 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
- Generating an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 through additional forest and tree cover.
- Initiative for enhanced South-South Cooperation to share experiences on Sustainable Land Management (SLM) strategies.
- India is a party to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Aravalli Mountain Range
- Oldest mountain ranges (fold mountains) in the world having its origin in the Proterozoic era.
- It runs approximately 700 kms from north-east to south-west direction, in western India.
- Range States: Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat
- Divided into two sections: Sambhar-Sirohi ranges and Sambhar-Khetri ranges.
- Highest Peak: Guru Shikhar on Mount Abu.
Threats:
- Decades of deforestation, mining, livestock grazing, and human encroachment have severely degraded the range.
- Of the total degraded area, 81% is in Rajasthan alone, followed by Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi.
- It has led to drying lakes, damaged aquifers, reduced biodiversity, and increasing desertification risks.
Significance of Aravalli Mountain Range:
- Vital ecological barrier that prevents the eastward expansion of the Thar desert and protects cities such as Delhi, Jaipur and Gurugram from desertification.
- Gives rise to several rivers including Banas & Sahibi (Tributaries of Yamuna), Luni (flows into Rann of Kutch), Chambal, Sakhi, and Sabarmati.
- Performs the role of an aquifer with its highly fractured and weathered quality rocks allowing water to percolate and recharge the groundwater.
- Its forests, grasslands and wetlands support endangered plant and animal species.
- Rich in natural resources including minerals such as rock phosphate, lead-zinc-silver, talc, pyrophyllite, asbestos, etc.