Stark warning by UNCCD: Business as usual is not a viable pathway for our continued survival

Up to 40 % of the planet’s land is degraded, affecting directly half of humanity. A new report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) sounds the alarm bell on the global state of the land. The way land resources – soil, water and biodiversity – are currently mismanaged and misused threatens the health and continued survival of many species on Earth, including our own. The Global Land Outlook 2 (GLO2) report is the most comprehensive consolidation of information on the topic ever assembled and it states something that most of us here are aware of: "Business as usual is not a viable pathway for our continued survival and prosperity.” “At no other point in modern history has humanity faced such an array of familiar and unfamiliar risks and hazards, interacting in a hyper-connected and rapidly changing world. We cannot afford to underestimate the scale and impact of these existential threats.” The report projects the planetary consequences of 3 scenarios through 2050: business as usual, restoration of 50 million square km of land, and restoration measures augmented by the conservation of natural areas important for specific ecosystem functions. And the "Business as usual" scenario makes you shiver: • Baseline: continuing current trends in land and natural resource degradation, while demands for food, feed, fibre, and bioenergy continue to rise. By 2050: 16 million square kilometres show continued land degradation (the size of South America) A persistent, long-term decline in vegetative productivity is observed with sub-Saharan Africa worst affected. An additional 69 gigatonnes of carbon is emitted from 2015 to 2050 due to land-use change and soil degradation This represents 17% of current annual greenhouse gas emissions. The report is not only doom and gloom as it projects 2 other more positive scenarios and also points decision-makers to hundreds of practical ways to affect local, national and regional land and ecosystem restoration. Let's make this decade the one of land restoration. Read the report: http://unccd.int/resources/global-land-outlook/overview Photo by Jervis Sundays, Kenya Red Cross Society

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31 more agrees trigger contact with the recipient

Adam Wallin
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107 w
Restoring land is a crucial part of solving the climate crisis.
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Marine Stephan
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This is a very important report, as well as a very worrisome one. We need to combat desertification if we want to reverse climate change.
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Justdiggit
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107 w
Have a look at some of the solutions we are implementing with our partners to combat desertification, and let us know what you think!
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Nicholas Nuttall
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107 w
This is such an important issue--we need to restore our damaged and dead land to absorb carbon, reduce the climate change threat and grow food rather than clearing more forests and other vital habitats.
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