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Poor land use
costs countries 9 percent
equivalent of their
GDP
Bonn, Germany – The global economy will
lose a whopping USD23 trillion by 2050 through
land degradation, a review by the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
warns. To take urgent action now and halt these
alarming trends would cost USD4.6 trillion –
only a fraction of the predicted
losses. The outcomes of the review have
been assembled into comprehensive and
easy-to-use Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)
Country Profiles, of which 21 are already
available online. The LDN Country Profiles
reveal that average losses for these 21
countries are equivalent to 9 percent of GDP.
This figure is even higher for some of the
planet’s worst affected countries, such as the
Central African Republic, where the total losses
are estimated at a staggering 40 percent. Asia
and Africa bear the highest costs, estimated at
USD84 billion and 65 billion per year
respectively. “Healthy land is the
primary asset that supports livelihoods around
the globe – from food to jobs and decent
incomes. Today, we face a crisis of unseen
proportions: 1.5 billion people – mainly in the
world’s most impoverished countries – are
trapped on degrading agricultural
land. This reality is fuelling extreme poverty,
particularly in areas such as the Sahel and
South Asia, where extreme and erratic weather
events are on the rise due to the impacts of
climate change,” says Juan Carlos Mendoza,
Managing Director of the UNCCD Global
Mechanism.
The LDN Country Profiles aim
to help guide policy decisions on land use
management. The profiles are based largely on
the analytical work undertaken by the Center for
Development Research of the University of Bonn,
the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative and
the International Food Policy Research
Institute.
Globally, 169 countries are
affected by land degradation and/or drought. Of
these, 116 countries are committed to achieving Land Degradation
Neutrality (LDN) under the UNCCD LDN Target-Setting
Programme that supports countries in
reaching target 15.3 of the Sustainable
Development Goals.
Target 15.3, on
Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), encourages
countries to halt land degradation in order to
ensure the quantity of productive land remains
stable. The target is now also recognized as
vital for accelerating other SDGs, such as: Goal
1 (No poverty), Goal 2 (Zero hunger), Goal 5
(Promote gender equality), Goal 6 (Clean water
and sanitation), Goal 8 (Decent work and
economic growth), and Goal 13 (Climate
action).
The 21 countries whose profiles
have been released today are also engaged in the
LDN target setting process, formulating targets
and associated measures to avoid, reduce and
reverse land degradation. For example, the
Central African Republic has committed to
restoring more than 1 million hectares of
degraded land – equal to 15 percent of its
territory – which will limit its potential
losses and economic burden
nationwide.
“The LDN Country
Profiles provide policy-makers with easily
accessible and scientifically sound information
that can help estimate the value of their
investments in land restoration and make
informed choices on the economic returns they
can expect from taking assertive action now.
Moreover, the profiles illustrate the equivalent
monetary value of land degradation and its
impact on the international community, while
providing strong incentives for cooperation
among countries,” Mendoza adds.
A broader
picture of the economic costs of failing to act
decisively and restore available land resources
will emerge as additional country profiles are
released. -------
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The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) is an international agreement on good
land stewardship. It helps people, communities
and countries create wealth, grow economies and
secure enough food, clean water and energy by
ensuring land users an enabling environment for
sustainable land management. Through
partnerships, the Convention’s 197 parties set
up robust systems to manage drought promptly and
effectively. Good land stewardship based on
sound policy and science helps integrate and
accelerate achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals, builds resilience to climate
change and prevents biodiversity
loss. | | |
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*|2016|* *|UNCCD|*, All rights
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Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2018
2:27 PM
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Poor
land use costs countries 9 percent equivalent of
their GDP
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