Grasslands and savannahs are potentially superior carbon sinks compared to tropical forests, yet remain absent from most National Determined Contributions. Critically analyse the structural and institutional reasons for this gap and suggest reforms.

Q. Grasslands and savannahs are potentially superior carbon sinks compared to tropical forests, yet remain absent from most National Determined Contributions. Critically analyse the structural and institutional reasons for this gap and suggest reforms. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Grasslands hold nearly 20% of the world's soil organic carbon, storing it below ground where fire cannot easily release it [1] — unlike forest biomass. Yet NDCs under the Paris Agreement remain forest-centric, a gap rooted less in science than in accounting and institutional design.

Why grasslands can outperform forests - Carbon is locked in soil, not biomass, making it resilient to fire and drought; well-managed grazing sustains the sink [1]. - IPCC's SRCCL (2019) places soil carbon sequestration in croplands and grasslands at 0.4–8.6 GtCO₂eq/yr, among the largest land-based removal options [2]. - 2026 is the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists; rangelands cover about half the world's land surface [3].

Structural and institutional reasons for the gap - Measurement asymmetry: soil carbon change is slow and costly to verify; FAO itself flags weak monitoring and absent farmer incentives as barriers to entering climate plans [1]. - Accounting bias: LULUCF technically covers grasslands, but practice privileges avoided deforestation as the headline mitigation lever [4]. - Finance architecture: REDD+ and forest facilities channel funds to trees; no comparable grassland instrument exists. - Convention silos: climate (UNFCCC) and biodiversity (CBD) treat rangelands separately, so neither owns the accounting standard. - Domestic classification (India): grasslands are often recorded as "wastelands," easing diversion; even GIM devotes only 0.4 mha to degraded grassland out of 10 mha [5].

Way forward - Build a national soil-carbon MRV baseline using remote sensing with in-situ sampling. - Recognise grasslands as a distinct land-use category with restoration targets in the next NDC cycle, extending India's phase-wise grassland rejuvenation plan (2025–2034) [6]. - Create grassland-specific finance and secure pastoralist tenure so carbon revenue reaches herders.

The gap is therefore institutional, not ecological. Correcting it would let India align its NDC, the Kunming-Montreal 30×30 goal and pastoral livelihoods within one framework — turning "wastelands" into recognised climate assets, consistent with Article 48A's mandate to protect the environment.

(~320 words)

Sources: 1. FAO publishes its first Global Assessment of Soil Carbon in Grasslands — FAO Newsroom — grasslands hold ~20% of global SOC; below-ground storage; monitoring and incentive barriers to inclusion in climate plans 2. IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), 2019 — cropland/grassland soil carbon sequestration potential of 0.4–8.6 GtCO₂eq/yr 3. International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 — FAO — UN designation of 2026; rangelands cover about half the world's land 4. Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) — UNFCCC — LULUCF framework scope and the primacy given to reducing deforestation 5. National Mission for a Green India Mission Document, MoEFCC — 10 mha target, of which 0.4 mha is degraded grassland 6. India's Green Pathway: From Conservation to Climate Action, PIB (April 2026) — phase-wise restoration plan 2025–2034 including grassland rejuvenation