New Delhi, June 17 -- India has restored 21.76 million hectares of degraded and deforested land between 2011 and 2020, achieving nearly 84 per cent of its Bonn Challenge target of restoring 26 million hectares by 2030, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Aming the states, Telangana has recorded the maximum area restored, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha as per IUCN's India's Second Progress Report on Bonn Challenge: 2011 - 2020.

The Bonn Challenge is a global initiative launched in 2011 to restore degraded and deforested landscapes, targets bringing 350 million hectares under restoration by 2030. The Challenge has already surpassed the 150-million-hectare mil...