[Title] Indian Presidency’s Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap (GIR) and Gandhinagar Information Platform (GIP) for strengthening the G20 Global Land Initiative

Indian Presidency’s Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap (GIR) and Gandhinagar Information Platform (GIP) for strengthening the G20 Global Land Initiative

by encouraging the ecological/ecosystem restoration of identified landscapes (forest fire impacted areas and mining affected areas)

Context

The Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap (GIR) and the Gandhinagar Information Platform (GIP) are centred around the restoration of landscapes of forest fire impacted areas and mining affected areas, in order to reinforce the G20 Global Land Initiative (GLI) implementation. This does not preclude global action across other ecosystems based on the Kunming Montreal GBF and other relevant initiatives and frameworks such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the UNCCD Strategic Framework, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, as well as national priorities.

Objective and Ambition of the Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap

Objective

The roadmap seeks to enhance, on a voluntary basis, mutual collaboration among participating countries to accelerate ecological/ecosystem restoration of the identified landscapes. The initiative has 2 key objectives:

1. Enhance focus on ecological/ecosystem restoration of land by reinforcing the capacity of habitats to sustain the diversity of their species in particular the keystone/ indicator/ umbrella species, in accordance with the respective priorities as determined by scientific evidence, and

2. Accelerate action on the identified landscapes by operationalizing the Roadmap’s tangible pillars of work to help achieve the objectives under the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and other relevant frameworks and initiatives including the G20 voluntary target of restoration of 50% degraded land by 2040.

Under this roadmap the participating countries on a voluntary basis shall share progress, knowledge, and best practices to enhance ecological/ecosystem restoration of landscapes through the Gandhinagar Information Platform.

Ambition

Participating countries, on a voluntary basis resolve to:

a) Bring all forest fire degraded lands under effective restoration by 2030 (over a 2011-2020 reference period as envisaged in CBD COP Decision 15/5) and enable their ecological/ecosystem restoration by 2040, on a voluntary basis.

b) [Bring all mining-impacted land areas under effective restoration by 2030 (over a 2011-2020 reference period as envisaged in CBD COP Decision 15/5) as per country’s plan and circumstances and enable their ecological/ecosystem restoration by 2040, on a voluntary basis.

Pillars of the Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap

All the participating countries to the roadmap are invited to nominate national nodal institutes/experts/organizations engaged in the restoration of the two identified landscapes on a voluntary basis. These nodal institutions/experts/organizations will form the backbone of the GIR and help achieve its objectives by acting across the below mentioned 5 pillars.

- SHOWCASE progress on ecological/ecosystem restoration of the identified landscapes by compiling annual reports on the types of projects and best practices of conservation

- ENGAGE national nodal institutes/experts/organizations for scientific research, knowledge and technology sharing as well as in supporting monitoring, and driving of key activities on identified landscapes.

- COLLABORATE through the network of nodal institutions/experts/organizations for capacity building and knowledge sharing, including traditional knowledge, Indigenous Peoples, participants and stakeholders to enhance land conservation, sustainable use, and restoration outcomes.

- SUPPORT, especially developing and least developed countries in accelerating ecological/ecosystem restoration by mobilizing sufficient, adequate and timely means of implementation in line with the GBF including

-- Enable effective transfer and co-development of technology and knowledge sharing

-- Substantially and progressively increase the mobilization of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner towards restoration especially to finance flagship projects that can serve as a template for restoration of the identified landscapes

-- Best practice and knowledge sharing including traditional knowledge

- INTEGRATE action on land degradation for identified landscapes with the Rio conventions and other multilateral environmental agreements and global initiatives to scale up outcomes.

Expert Panel

The nominated national nodal/experts/organizations shall constitute an expert panel to the GIR and shall meet periodically to plan, discuss, and report progress on the voluntary ambitions of the GIR.

Gandhinagar Information Platform – An enabler for implementation of the GIR

Overall Objective of the Gandhinagar Information Platform

The platform shall display progress on the voluntary ambitions of the GIR and act as an information sharing hub for policies, best practices and actions. The platform will also foster collaboration between the nodal institutions/experts/organization while showcasing traditional and indigenous knowledge on ecological/ecosystem restoration of the identified landscapes and adopting a solutions approach to enable affordable, replicable and flexible solutions for the improvement of global restoration efforts.

Initiative scope and activities

The GIP will enable the operationalization of the GIR in the following ways –

1. Engage stakeholders - The Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) and Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), will coordinate with nodal institutions/experts/organizations for the collation of data, best practices and information received from participating countries as well as be responsible for the design, development and maintenance of the GIP.

2. Enable collaboration on a voluntary basis - The best practices, policies and success stories shared on the GIP shall enable cross-learning as well as for ecological/ecosystem restoration.

3. Innovation through traditions -Highlight traditional knowledge and role of other partners and stakeholders (e.g., Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities and others as appropriate) for the ecological/ecosystem restoration.

4. Access to and sharing of information across a network of experts, researchers and civil society organizations invited by participating countries for capacity building activities.