Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: India on Monday urged sustained, predictable and diversified financing for large‑scale land restoration and drought resilience at the 17th Conference of Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), setting out domestic financing instruments it says can be scaled or adapted internationally.
Finance beyond public budgets
Addressing the Ministerial Dialogue on “Innovative Financial Mechanisms for Healthy Land and Drought Resilience”, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav said tackling desertification, land degradation and drought at scale required resources “beyond public budgets”, including stronger public‑private partnerships and novel financing instruments.
“Land restoration is not a cost but an investment in food, water, biodiversity, livelihoods, and long‑term resilience,” said Yadav.
Yadav highlighted India’s blended green‑finance framework and cited specific mechanisms the government has employed to mobilise capital for ecosystem restoration, sustainable land use and forestry.
Domestic instruments showcased
The minister drew attention to instruments that the government says can channel private finance into restoration and conservation:
- Sovereign Green Bonds — identified as one pathway to mobilise capital for land restoration, drought resilience, sustainable forestry and related priorities;
- Green Credit Programme — which allows public and private entities to finance restoration of degraded forest land and receive credits after documented success;
- Compensatory conservation regime — where payments received for forest diversion are directed towards compensatory afforestation and ecosystem restoration.
The Green Credit Programme was described in the minister’s remarks as issuing credits after five years of successful restoration once a minimum canopy density threshold is achieved; credits can then be used to meet compensatory afforestation or statutory planting obligations.
Targets and scale
While addressing the conference, Yadav reiterated India’s emphasis on restoration as part of sustainable and resilient development. The minister underscored the need for adequate, predictable and sustained international financing alongside domestic measures.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Event | UNCCD CoP17 Ministerial Dialogue |
| Theme | Innovative Financial Mechanisms for Healthy Land and Drought Resilience |
| Key domestic tools cited | Sovereign Green Bonds, Green Credit Programme, compensatory conservation regime |
The minister also held bilateral discussions at the conference, including with counterparts from neighbouring countries, signalling a focus on both national policy instruments and cross‑boundary environmental co‑operation.
Context and implications
India’s interventions at UNCCD CoP17 seek to position the country’s experience in mobilising blended finance as a model for financing large‑scale restoration. By emphasising instruments such as sovereign green bonds and tradable restoration credits, the government is signalling an intent to blend public budgets with private capital and regulatory levers to meet restoration commitments.
Adopting such mechanisms at scale would require clear standards for ecological outcomes, monitoring and verification, and transparent rules on the use and transferability of credits — issues that are central to international dialogue on finance for nature. The minister’s comments bring those operational questions into sharper focus for next steps in multilateral negotiations and domestic policy design.
At the conference, the emphasis remained on mobilising finance that is diversified, adequate and predictable, and on aligning public policy to unlock private investment in landscape restoration and drought resilience.
(Reporting from Ulaanbaatar draws on the minister’s statements at UNCCD CoP17 and associated government summaries.)
