The UN Conference to Fight Desertification (UNCCD) broadcasts the launch of its first-ever Knowledge Dashboard compiling nationwide reporting figures from 126 international locations, which reveals that land degradation is advancing at an astonishing fee throughout all areas.
Between 2015 and 2019, the world misplaced a minimum of 100 million hectares of wholesome and productive land annually, including as much as twice the dimensions of Greenland. These statistics underscore the necessity for pressing motion, as escalating land degradation continues to destabilize markets, communities, and ecosystems across the globe.
The UNCCD Knowledge Dashboard launch comes at a vital juncture as world leaders and specialists will quickly collect in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 13-17 November 2023 for the twenty first session of the UNCCD Committee for the Evaluation of the Implementation of the Conference (CRIC 21). Delegates will evaluation world progress made towards land degradation neutrality (LDN) and confront urgent points like enhancing drought resilience, selling ladies’s land rights, and combating sand and dirt storms.
UNCCD Government Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw stated: “The primary-ever UNCCD Knowledge Dashboard gives an eye-opening perception into speedy lack of wholesome and productive land world wide, with dire penalties for billions of individuals. On the similar time, we’re seeing some ‘brightspots’—international locations successfully tackling desertification, land degradation and drought. As we collect in Uzbekistan subsequent month to evaluation world progress in direction of ending land loss, the message is obvious: land degradation calls for quick consideration.”
Regional disparities
The UNCCD Knowledge Dashboard displays an alarming actuality throughout the globe and divulges vital disparities on the subject of the proportion of degraded land per area.
Japanese and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean areas expertise probably the most extreme degradation, affecting a minimum of 20 per cent of their whole land space.
In the meantime, sub-Saharan Africa, Western and Southern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean skilled land degradation at charges sooner than the worldwide common.
Notably, in sub-Saharan Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean, 163 million hectares and 108 million hectares, respectively, have succumbed to land degradation since 2015.
Land restoration “brightspots”
Regardless of a bleak world image, there are examples of nations successfully tackling desertification, land degradation and drought.
In sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana decreased land degradation from 36 per cent to 17 per cent of its territory. The nation has dedicated a complete of 45.3 million hectares to land degradation neutrality, together with each measures to keep away from additional degradation in addition to restoration interventions in chosen land degradation hotspots. Botswana additionally reported 1.42 million hectares as “brightspot” areas, or areas which have been rehabilitated by implementing applicable remediation actions.
Within the Dominican Republic, the proportion of degraded land has decreased from 49 per cent to 31per cent between 2015 and 2019, with ongoing efforts to revive 240 000 hectares within the Yaque del Norte River basin and in cocoa manufacturing areas in San Franscisco de Macoris province.
Whereas Uzbekistan reported the very best proportion of degraded land (26.1 per cent) within the Central Asia area, it additionally noticed the most important lower – from 30 per cent to 26 per cent — in comparison with 2015. A complete of three million hectares of land in Uzbekistan have been degraded as a result of drying of the Aral Sea. Between 2018-2022, Uzbekistan carried out saxaul planting on an space of 1.6 million ha to remove salt and dirt emissions from the drained backside of the Aral Sea.
Land degradation neutrality purpose nonetheless inside attain
Though land degradation traits range by area, UNCCD information warns that, if present traits persist, the world might want to restore a staggering 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 to achieve LDN targets enshrined within the Sustainable Improvement Targets (SDGs).
Barron Orr, UNCCD Chief Scientist, stated: “Though world traits are going within the improper path, it’s nonetheless doable to not solely meet however exceed land degradation neutrality objectives. This may be performed by stopping additional degradation whereas accelerating efforts on current commitments to revive one billion hectares of land by 2030 with funding and motion hand-in-hand.”
In a promising dedication in direction of constructing a extra resilient future, 109 international locations have set voluntary LDN targets for 2030, with one other 21 within the means of doing so. Between 2016 and 2019, roughly USD$ 5 billion in bilateral and multilateral sources flowed into world efforts to fight desertification, land degradation and drought. This helped 124 nations roll out a variety of initiatives geared toward reaching land degradation neutrality and addressing the challenges posed by desertification, land degradation, and drought.
Donate At Caribbean Information Service, we don’t cost for our content material and we need to preserve it that method. We’re searching for assist from people and organisations so we will
proceed our work & develop CNS additional.
