*[Enwl-eng] reversing land degradation to fight climate change
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Tue Jun 15 02:13:57 MSK 2021
reversing land degradation to fight climate change 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:
a.. Ms. Wagaki Wischnewski | email:
wwischnewski at unccd.int | phone +49 173 268 7593
b.. Ms. Katheryn Jimenez | email:
kjimenez at unccd.int
Press contacts for international media
Ms. Wagaki Wischnewski
wwischnewski at unccd.int.
Phone +49 173 268 7593
Ms. Katheryn Jimenez
kjimenez at unccd.int
About the UNCCD
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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From: UNCCD Secretariat
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 2:18 AM
Subject: reversing land degradation to fight
climate change
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