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Press Release
12
September 2017 |
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Better
land use and management critical for achieving
Agenda 2030, says a new
report
Ordos,
September 12 – “Consumption of the
earth's natural reserves has doubled in the last
30 years, with a third of the planet's land now
severely degraded. Each year, we lose 15 billion
trees and 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil.
Smallholder farmers, women and indigenous
communities are the most vulnerable, given their
reliance on land-based resources, compounded by
their exclusion from wider infrastructure and
economic development,” according to the new
publication, The
Global Land Outlook (GLO), launched
today, at the 13th meeting of the
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) in Ordos,
China.
Currently, more than 1.3
billion people are trapped on degrading
agricultural land, drastically increasing
competition for crucial ecosystem services such
as food, water and energy. The GLO draws on an
analysis of recent trends in land productivity
and modelling of land demand scenarios up to the
year 2050. It outlines how reversing trends in
the condition of land resources could accelerate
efforts to achieve many of the Sustainable
Development Goals, by adopting more efficient
planning and sustainable
practices.
Speaking at the launch,
UNCCD Executive Secretary Monique Barbut said,
“land degradation and drought are global
challenges and intimately linked to most, if not
all aspects of human security and well-being –
food security, employment and migration, in
particular.”
“As the ready supply
of healthy and productive land dries up and the
population grows, competition is intensifying,
for land within countries and globally. As the
competition increases, there are winners and
losers. To minimize the losses, The Outlook
suggests it is in all our interests to step back
and rethink how we are managing the pressures
and the competition. The Outlook presents a
vision for transforming the way in which we use
and manage land because we are all
decision-makers and our choices can make a
difference – even small steps matter,” she
further added.
Welcoming the
UNCCD’s new flagship publication, UNDP
Administrator Mr. Achim Steiner stated,
“over 250 million people are directly
affected by desertification, and about one
billion people in over one hundred countries are
at risk. They include many of the world‘s
poorest and most marginalized people.
Achieving land degradation neutrality can
provide a healthy and productive life for all on
Earth, including water and food
security. The Global Land
Outlook shows that each of us can in fact
make a difference, and I hope that in the
next edition we are able
to tell even more stories of
better land use and
management.”
This landmark
publication on the current and future state of
the world’s land resources is the first in-depth
analysis of the multiple functions of the land
viewed from a wide range of interrelated sectors
and thematic areas, such as the food-water-land
nexus, as well as the ‘less obvious’ drivers of
land use change, notably the nature of economic
growth, consumer choice and global trade
patterns. Crucially, the report examines a
growing disconnect between the financial and
socio-economic values of the land and how this
affects the poor.
The first edition
of the GLO was published by the UNCCD
secretariat with the support of numerous
partners, including the European Commission, the
Governments of Korea, Switzerland and the
Netherlands, and UNDP. It is available in both
print and digital formats on a dedicated web
platform.
About
UNCCD
The United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is
the only legally binding international agreement
on land issues. The Convention promotes good
land stewardship. Its 196 Parties aim, through
partnerships, to implement the Convention and
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The
end goal is to protect our land, from over-use
and drought, so it can continue to provide us
all with food, water and energy. By sustainably
managing land and striving to achieve land
degradation neutrality, now and in the future,
we will reduce the impact of climate change,
avoid conflict over natural resources and help
communities to
thrive.
About
UNDP
UNDP partners with people
at all levels of society to help build nations
that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain
the kind of growth that improves the quality of
life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170
countries and territories, we offer global
perspective and local insight to help empower
lives and build resilient nations.
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Media
Contacts:
Wagaki
Wischenewski
Public Information and Media
Officer
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
Tel: +86 155 9883
5711 (local number in China)
wwisch...@unccd.intFor information about
The Global Land Outlook,
contact:
Sasha Alexander, salex...@unccd.int | |
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The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) is the only legally binding international
agreement on land issues. The Convention promotes
good land stewardship. Its 196 Parties aim,
through partnerships, to implement the Convention
and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The
end goal is to protect our land, from over-use and
drought, so it can continue to provide us all with
food, water and energy. By sustainably managing
land and striving to achieve land degradation
neutrality, now and in the future, we will reduce
the impact of climate change, avoid conflict over
natural resources and help communities to
thrive. | | |
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Sent:
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 1:27 PM
Subject:
A landmark global report on the status of the land
titled, The Global Land Outlook (GLO), was launched
today
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