Action Plan for Aravalli Landscape Restoration Unveiled
Why focus: Aravalli Green Wall Project tackles desertification — GS3 Environment; highly testable via Match-the-Following for involved states/ecology.
In News
What Happened
Why It Matters
Background
History & Context
What Changed
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Strategic Framework: Replaced ad-hoc, state-level plantation drives with a unified 5-pillar roadmap (Ecological Restoration, Community Participation, Policy, Livelihoods, and Research).
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Geographical Scope: Expanded the focus from a narrow 5-km buffer zone to a comprehensive landscape approach covering 6.45 million hectares across 29 districts.
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Funding Synergy: Formalised the convergence of existing schemes like CAMPA, MGNREGA, and the Green India Mission for unified financing, bypassing siloed state budgets.
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Monitoring Mechanisms: Established dedicated research and monitoring verticals under national institutions like the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
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Community Integration: Officially linked the restoration work with the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign to drive mass youth participation and community ownership.
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Livelihood Focus: Shifted from purely ecological afforestation to integrating eco-livelihoods, promoting agroforestry, non-timber forest produce (NTFP) enterprises, and eco-tourism.
What Did NOT Change
The Action Plan did not introduce a complete blanket ban on mining in the Aravallis. Instead, it relies on the Supreme Court's ongoing directives and the forthcoming Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) drafted by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE). Furthermore, legacy issues of widespread illegal encroachments, particularly in Haryana, remain a massive and unresolved implementation hurdle.
Prelims Angle
NCERT Connection
Common Misconceptions
✗ The Aravalli mountains are confined entirely within the borders of Rajasthan.
✓ The Aravalli range spans approximately 670 to 700 km across four administrative regions: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Rajasthan contains the largest geographical share and the highest peak (Guru Shikhar) of the range, leading people to associate it exclusively with that single state.
✗ The Aravalli Green Wall is a physical, continuous barricade built to stop desert sand.
✓ It is a 5-km wide ecological buffer consisting of native, climate-resilient trees (like Khejri, Banyan, and Dhau) and restored water bodies that acts as a natural windbreak.
The term 'Wall' creates a misleading mental image of a man-made concrete or structural border, similar to historical fortified walls.
Practice Questions
Q1
How Many CorrectConsider the following statements regarding the Aravalli Green Wall Project: 1. It aims to establish a continuous green buffer across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. 2. The initiative is a vital component of India's commitment under the UNCCD to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. 3. The financing of the project exclusively relies on international climate funds, entirely bypassing domestic schemes like MGNREGA. How many of the statements given above are correct?
Q2
Match the FollowingMatch the environmental initiatives/terms (List I) with their corresponding contexts (List II): List I: A. Aravalli Green Wall B. Great Green Wall C. UNCCD COP-14 D. Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam List II: 1. Africa's Sahel region initiative to stop Sahara expansion 2. New Delhi Declaration on land restoration 3. Restoring a 6.45 million-hectare landscape across four Indian states/UTs 4. Community-driven afforestation campaign linked to ecological restoration Select the correct code:
Q3
Assertion & ReasonAssertion (A): The degradation of the Aravalli range poses a severe ecological threat to the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Indo-Gangetic plains. Reason (R): Deforestation and excessive mining in the Aravallis have compromised the mountain range's ability to act as a windbreak, allowing sand-laden winds from the Thar Desert to advance eastward. Select the correct answer: