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UNCCD Press
release
Presidency of the General Assembly High
Level
Dialogue |
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Press
release
14 June 2021
For Immediate
Release
“Reversing Land
Degradation crucial to fighting climate
change”
New York,
14/06/2021- Climate change, overuse and
conversion for agriculture, cities and
infrastructure mean that one fifth of the
planet’s land area is degraded. This damage,
which also drives drought and desertification,
harms the livelihoods of almost half the
planet’s population. However, as much as one
billion hectares can be restored over the next
10 years if there is political will. The world
leaders set the direction for the coming decade
at the at a High-Level Dialogue on
Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought
convened by the President of the General
Assembly, Volkan Bozkir.
“We are facing a
triple planetary crises of climate change,
biodiversity loss and pollution, and land is at
the centre of all three,” said UN Deputy
Secretary General, Amina J. Mohammed at the
meeting.
She laid out four priorities for
the coming decade: Raising ambition on land
restoration, including aiming to end illegal
deforestation; investing in land-based solutions
to sustain COVID-19 recovery efforts and tackle
the climate crisis.
Doing this, Ms.
Mohammed said, is possible while creating strong
economic returns; getting the financing right to
scale-up land restoration and translate
commitments into action; and measure our land
resources and ecosystems to value them so that
natural capital – our land, forests, wetlands
and other ecosystems -- are recognized in
economic reporting and that our natural assets
are maintained like our economic
assets.
“Put simply, a land-centred
approach to COVID-19 recovery can change the
world,” said Executive Secretary of the UN
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),
Ibrahim Thiaw. “So far, the world's largest
economies have already spent USD 16 trillion in
post-covid recovery efforts. Investing a
fifth of that amount, collectively, per year,
could shift the world’s economies to a
sustainability trajectory. Within a decade, the
global economy could create close to 400 million
new green jobs, generating over USD 10 trillion
in annual business value.”
The meeting
comes against a backdrop of increasing concern
about land loss and soil degradation. A report
released in early June by PBL Netherlands
Environmental Assessment Agency draws up a stark
picture if urgent change to current land-use
policies is not undertaken.
A scenario of
no change will mean an increase in agricultural
production in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and
South America to meet growing food demand,
leading to 300 million hectares of land being
cleared by 2050. This would lead to a decline in
global biodiversity by 6%, a loss of 32 gigatons
of carbon to the atmosphere and a marked decline
in soil health and its ability to hold water,
leading to increased chances of drought and
floods.
However, through a combination of
restoration and protection, an improvement in
land management using known practices with
proven results would enable the world to restore
more than 5 billion hectares of land, leading to
increased crop yields, improved water-holding
capacity of soil and a significant reduction in
the release of greenhouse gas emissions and
increased carbon storage. It would also reduce
loss of biodiversity, and overall increase
income for farmers.
This ambitious plan –
in line with the Sustainable Development Goals –
to protect 30% more of the land by 2030, could
reduce biodiversity loss by nearly one third,
see a 9% increase in global agricultural yields,
and dramatically increase carbon absorption and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to the
same report.
“These are not utopian
scenarios,” UNCCD’s Ibrahim Thiaw, said. “It is
fully within our abilities to reach this most
ambitious scenario. But it takes determination
among the world’s leaders to do
so.”
Related
links:
About the event: https://www.unccd.int/20-may-high-level-dialogue-desertification-land-degradation-and-drought
General
Assembly of the United Nations :
https://www.un.org/en/ga/
About
UNCCD
The United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an
international agreement on good land
stewardship. It helps people, communities, and
countries to create wealth, grow economies and
secure enough food and water and energy, by
ensuring land users have an enabling environment
for sustainable land management. Through
partnerships, the Convention’s 197 Parties set
up robust systems to manage land degradation and
drought promptly and effectively. Good land
stewardship based on a sound policy and science
helps integrate and accelerate the achievement
of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds
resilience to climate change and prevents
biodiversity loss. Land also plays a key role in
the prevention, preparedness, response, and
recovery phases of the COVID-19 pandemic,
securing rural livelihoods and creating green
jobs, supporting community resilience and
maintaining the sustainable delivery of
ecosystem
services.
Contacts:
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The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) is an international agreement on good
land stewardship. Through partnerships, the
Convention’s 197 Parties set up robust systems
to manage land degradation and drought promptly
and effectively. Good land stewardship based on
a sound policy and science helps integrate and
accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals, builds resilience to climate
change and prevents biodiversity loss. Land also
plays a key role in the prevention,
preparedness, response, and recovery phases of
the COVID-19 pandemic, securing rural
livelihoods and creating green jobs, supporting
community resilience and maintaining the
sustainable delivery of ecosystem
services. | | |
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Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
2:18 AM
Subject: reversing land
degradation to fight climate change
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