Evaluating the Challenges and Strategies for SDG.15.3: A Case Study of Goa State

With increased anthropogenic activity and commitments toward various international organisations and countries to mitigate its ill effects, finding a sustainable way out is very important. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) thus become an important part of our collective efforts. The present study aims at assessing SDG 15: Life on land (SDG 15.3.1) for India’s state of Goa following the good practices guidelines of the United Nations to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) by employing the “Trends. Earth” plug-in in QGIS software. The assessment of the indicator is based on three sub-indicators: soil carbon, productivity, and land cover. The study yields a total land area improvement of 81.16% to the overall area of the state. The individual sub-indicator of productivity depicted an improvement of 85.14%, whereas 8.70% area was with stable productivity. Other sub-indicators of land cover showed a larger portion of land as stable, with 90.26% and a minor improvement of 5.20%. The soil organic carbon depicted an improvement of 0.54% with a maximum stable soil organic carbon of 94.91%. Several factors, such as better resource utilisation, improved governance practices, and a more sustainable approach to development, have affected the overall improvement of the indicators. Over the years, these improvements have allowed the state to grow as a sustainable tourist attraction for Indian nationals and foreign visitors.