Study on Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) in India

India's GDP in 2014-15 suffered a loss of 2.5% due to land degradation. The annual cost of land degradation outstrip the total costs of reclamation in 2030.

The project primarily assesses the economics of desertification for India through a macro- and micro-economic assessment of the various regions. The specific objectives of the assignment are to assess the scale of land degradation in the country with its associated economic impacts; and assess the quantum as well as the sources of the investment required for undertaking preventive and restorative measures. These measures are expected to help achieve the aspirational goal of having a land degradation-neutral India by 2030.

The study was carried out in six different states of India with varied topographical conditions, each resulting in a specific case study with in-depth analysis. These include Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The report is divided into two volumes. The first volume introduces the problem and includes a literature review of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) in India and analyses the economic approaches used globally to estimate the costs of DLDD. This report is followed by a macro-economic assessment of the costs of degradation for the country and an assessment of the costs of reclamation in 2030. Volume 2 discusses and summarises the results of the individual case studies. Here we highlight the results of the macro-economic study.