Context: Recently, the union minister for environment, forest, and climate change inaugurated Aravalli Green Wall Project.

About Aravalli Green Wall Project

• The Aravalli Green Wall Project is a part of the Union Environment Ministry's vision to create green corridors across the country to combat land degradation and desertification.

• It was conceptualized on the lines of the African Green Wall program.

• It is a major initiative to green the 5 km buffer area around the Aravalli Hill Range in Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Delhi.

• The project will increase the green cover and biodiversity of the Aravalli through afforestation, reforestation, and restoration of water bodies.

• It will also improve the soil fertility, water availability, and climate resilience of the region.

• It will benefit the local communities by providing them with employment opportunities, income generation, and ecosystem services.

• The project reiterated the government's commitment to achieving the national goal of creating an additional 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon sink by 2030.

Objectives

• Improving the ecological health of the Aravalli range

• Prevent the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert and to reduce land degradation by creating green barriers that will prevent soil erosion, desertification, and dust storms

• Promote sustainable development and livelihood opportunities by involving local communities in afforestation, agroforestry, and water conservation activities that will generate income, employment, food security, and social benefits.

• Enhancing India's image as a global environmental protection and green development leader.

Significance

• It will help in carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change to enhance the biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Aravalli range by planting native tree species in the Aravalli region, providing habitat for wildlife, and improving water quality and quantity.

• It will contribute to India's commitments under various international conventions such as UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification), CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), and UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).