Context: Recently, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced the launch of its first-ever Data Dashboard, which shows that Land Degradation is advancing at an astonishing rate across all regions.

What is Land Degradation?

• Land degradation arises from various factors, including extreme weather conditions, particularly drought.

• Human activities that pollute or degrade the quality of soils and land utility also contribute to land degradation.

Impact of Land Degradation

• Severe land degradation can lead to desertification, resulting in the creation of arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid regions.

• Land degradation accelerates climate change and biodiversity loss, contributes to droughts, wildfires, involuntary migration, and the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases.

Key Highlights of UNCCD Data on Land Degradation

Global Land Loss

• Between 2015 and 2019, the world witnessed the annual loss of over 100 million hectares of productive land, which is equivalent to twice the size of Greenland.

• This highlights a significant and rapid worsening of land degradation on a global scale.

High Impact Regions

• Regions such as Eastern and Central Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean are experiencing severe land degradation, affecting at least 20% of their total land area.

• Sub-Saharan Africa, Western and Southern Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean have experienced land degradation rates faster than the global average.

• Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean have seen 163 million hectares and 108 million hectares of land, respectively, succumb to degradation since 2015.

Positive Progress

• Certain countries have made progress in combatting land degradation. For instance, Botswana in sub-Saharan Africa reduced land degradation from 36% to 17% of its territory.

• The Dominican Republic witnessed a reduction in the proportion of degraded land from 49% to 31% between 2015 and 2019. Ongoing efforts aim to restore 240,000 hectares in specific land degradation hotspots.

• Uzbekistan reported the highest proportion of degraded land (26.1%) in Central Asia but also achieved the largest decrease, going from 30% to 26% since 2015.

• India, however, experienced an increase in degraded land area from 4.42% in 2015 to 9.45% in 2019, indicating significant land degradation.

Recommendations of UNCCD to Achieve LDN Targets

Restore Degraded Land

• The UNCCD underscores the need to restore approximately 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 to attain the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) objectives set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Stopping Further Degradation and Accelerating Restoration

• The UNCCD emphasizes that despite concerning global trends, it remains possible to meet or even exceed LDN goals. This can be achieved through a combination of halting further degradation and accelerating efforts to restore degraded land.

Voluntary LDN Targets

• Numerous countries have established voluntary LDN targets for the year 2030, reflecting their commitment to combating land degradation.

Need for Funding

• Adequate funding is crucial to support and advance these efforts in line with the LDN targets.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

• Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement that connects environmental and developmental aspects to promote sustainable land management.

• It specifically addresses arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid regions, collectively known as drylands, which are home to some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and populations.

• The Convention’s 197 parties collaborate to enhance the living conditions in drylands, preserve and restore land and soil productivity, and mitigate the impacts of drought.

UNCCD and Interconnected Challenges

UNCCD collaborates with the other two Rio Conventions to tackle the interrelated challenges of land, climate, and biodiversity:

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework

• This framework represents a global commitment to achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), with the goal of restoring the productivity of extensive degraded land, enhancing the livelihoods of over 1.3 billion people, and reducing the effects of drought on vulnerable populations.

UNCCD and Sustainable Development

• Goal 15 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) emphasizes the determination to protect the planet from degradation.

• It emphasizes sustainable consumption and production, responsible natural resource management, and urgent climate action to ensure the planet can meet the needs of present and future generations.

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)

• LDN is a straightforward but potent concept that involves ensuring a balance between the depletion and restoration of natural resources in a way that preserves the overall health and productivity of the land.

• The core of LDN centers on adopting more effective land management practices and improved land-use planning to enhance economic, social, and ecological sustainability for both current and future generations.

• LDN offers substantial advantages in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. By halting and reversing land degradation, it is possible to shift the status of land from being a source of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) to becoming a carbon sink. This transformation is achieved by increasing carbon stocks in soils and vegetation.