The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change recently inaugurated the Aravali Green Wall Project on International Day of Forests. The occasion also saw the unveiling of the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation Through Forestry Interventions. These initiatives are part of a wider effort to tackle land degradation across India.
Unlocking the Aravali Green Wall Project
The Aravali Green Wall Project is an ambitious initiative to create a 1,400km long and 5km wide green belt around the Aravali Mountain range, spanning across Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Delhi. Initial plans include rejuvenating 75 water bodies in the Aravali landscape as well as addressing degraded lands in key districts of Haryana such as Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bhiwani, Mahendergarh, and Rewari. This project is inspired by Africa’s ‘Great Green Wall’ initiative that started back in 2007.
Objectives of the Green Wall Project
The primary goal of the Green Wall project is to mitigate the escalating rates of land degradation and halt the eastward expansion of the Thar desert. The green belt, planned from Porbandar to Panipat, will aid in restoring degraded land through afforestation along the Aravali hill range and will also serve as a dust barrier from the deserts of western India and Pakistan.
Improving the biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Aravali range through the planting of native trees is another critical aim. These trees will help in carbon sequestration, provide habitats for wildlife, improve water quality and quantity, and encourage local communities to participate in afforestation, agro-forestry, and water conservation actions for sustainable development.
India’s Degraded Lands – A Closer Look
According to the Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), approximately 97.85 million hectares (29.7%) of India’s total geographical area underwent land degradation during 2018-19. The Aravali region has been identified as a key degraded zone to be targeted for greening under India’s goal to restore 26 million hectares of its land. Previous ISRO reports have also highlighted that Delhi, Gujarat, and Rajasthan had already degraded over 50% of their land.
The Aravali Mountain Range
The Aravali mountain range is Earth’s oldest fold mountains, extending over 800km from Gujarat to Delhi through Rajasthan and Haryana. The highest peak in the Aravali Range is Guru Peak on Mount Abu. The Aravallis significantly influence the climate of northwest India and beyond, guiding monsoon clouds eastwards during monsoons, feeding north Indian plains, and protecting fertile alluvial river valleys from the assault of cold westerly winds from Central Asia during winter.
Insight into Africa’s Great Green Wall
The Great Green Wall of Africa (GGW) is a project launched by the African Union to restore the continent’s degraded landscapes and improve lives across the Sahel. With a planned 8km wide band of trees stretching 8,000km across Africa, it aims to restore 100 million hectares of currently degraded land, sequester 250 million tons of carbon, and create 10 million green jobs by 2030. Participating countries in the Sahel-Sahara region include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Senegal.
