Sustainable Land Management in Dry Areas – Desertification

It is a well-established fact that land degradation costs the world approximately US$ 40 billion each year. FAO and United Nations Convention to Combat DesertificationThis figure does not take into account other hidden costs such as increased fertilizer use, loss of biodiversity and the rapid disappearance of unique landscapes. Extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, erratic climate change and unsustainable use of natural resources are among the complex factors driving land degradation. This in turn has negative impacts on land productivity, food security, socio-economic stability, health and well-being, and the provision of other ecosystem goods and services for billions of people around the world. In drylands, these negative impacts are even more intense because natural resources in these areas are already limited.

Last year, the 195 signatories to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) agreed in Ankara to set a new environmental goal to achieve “zero land degradation” by 2030. The concept was approved a month ago at the United Nations General Assembly in New York as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda (Sustainable Development Goals) and is reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 15 on life on land. This landmark agreement commits countries to restore or rehabilitate degraded land annually on a voluntary basis and launches a framework to achieve this goal.

Achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 is a huge challenge that requires effective and coordinated efforts from multiple stakeholders, supported by appropriate assessment and monitoring strategies. To date, interventions to halt or reverse land degradation at the national level have often been fragmented or suffered from poor integration and limited impact assessments. Effectively scaling up sustainable land management and restoration practices is essential to achieving this goal. Conduct a scientific review of existing knowledge, including indigenous and technological knowledge, and global datasets, such as those collected in the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and TechnologiesWorld Cat Federation) is the world’s top database recommended by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and is an important asset from which the international community can benefit.

Read the full article: CGIAR