The 11-day conference is being held with delegates from 196 countries.

India is hosting the Conference of Parties (COP) 14 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) from September 2-13.

"India will lead by example and cooperate with the world. We will make all necessary contributions in the matter," Javadekar said.

For this to happen, all critical stakeholders— ministries of environment, agriculture, water resources and land resources— have to work tog...