DLDD*
and
Sustainable
Development
Zero net
land
degradation a SDG for
Rio+20
Launch of UNCCD Policy Brief
Luc GNACADJA
Executive Secretary
DLDD = Desertification Land Degradation & Drought
Berlin, Germany
23 May 2012
United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification
2030:
Cropland
expansionfor
for
What
implications
food, feed and fuel demand
175 to 220 million ha
?
70% rural
Sustainable
Development
Poverty
Food security
80% hunger rural
+50% in 2030
+ 120 million ha
Land/Soil
For Agricult-Forests
Biodiv-Settlements &
Infrastructure
in 2030 +40%
Energy
Water
Water in Agric 70%
in 2030 +40%
Deforestation: 70 to 80 % of expansion of cropland expansion lead to
deforestation
In too many places,
achievements in production
have been associated with
management practices that
have degraded the land and
water
Status & Trends in Global Land Degradation
Source: SOLAW 2011 - FAO
DLDD: Some facts & figures
?
Sustainable
Development
Food
Energy
Water
Forest
Land
/Soil
Climate Change
More than 50% of agricultural
moderately to severely degraded
 LD directly affects 1,5 billion
people globally
 75 billion tons of fertile soil
disappear/year
 12 million ha/Year lost due to
drought and desertification
 Six million km2 of drylands bear
a legacy of desertification
 Biodiversity: 27,000 species lost
each year due to LD
 70 to 80 % of expansion of
cropland lead to deforestation

DLDD
Biodiversity loss
Extreme
Poverty
Food insecurity
& Hunger
Increased
emissions of
GHG
Deforestation
Increased
to Drought &
Water stress
Biodiversity
Loss
Instability &
Crises
Migrations
DLDD has far-reaching impacts
Drought potential worldwide
2000-2098
Source : University Corporation for Atmospheric Research - http://www2.ucar.edu/news/2904/climate-change-drought-may-threaten-much-globe-within-decades
DLDD*
Drying up
The
Future
We Want
United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification
DLDD = Desertification Land Degradation & Drought
NCCD
Climate change will depress agricultural yields in Umost
countries by 2050 given current agricultural practices
and crop varieties
Changes in
agricultural
productivity by 2050
due to Climate change
Source: Müller and others 2009. in WDR 2010, Page 145
Note: The figure shows the projected percentage change in yields of 11 major crops (wheat, rice, maize, millet, field pea, sugar beet,
sweet potato, soybean, groundnut, sunflower, and rapeseed) from 2046 to 2055, compared with 1996–2005. The values are the mean
of three emission scenarios across five global climate models, assuming no CO2 fertilization (see note 54). Large negative yield impacts
are projected in many areas that are highly dependent on agriculture
DLDD & Climate Change




The % of Earth’s land area stricken by serious drought has
more than doubled from the 1970s to the early 2000s
Climate change will depress agricultural yields by up to 15-50%
in most countries by 2050, given current agricultural practices
and crop varieties
Agriculture worldwide accounts for around 15% of global
greenhouse gas emissions. The related deforestation
contributes about 11%
“Improved management of the world’s land (including terrestrial
carbon) represents one third of the overall global abatement
potential in 2030 (and a half in 2020)1. It represents 7Gt CO2e
of mitigation in developing countries in 2020, roughly 40% of
the 17Gt CO2e of mitigation required globally”
No Carbon neutrality without Land degradation neutrality
Source: World Resources Institute, South Dakota State University, the IUCN
and the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration http://www.wri.org/map/global-map-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunities
Intervention Options for
ZNLD
Type 1 – High degradation trend
or highly degraded lands: 25%
Rehabilitate if economically
feasible; mitigate where
degrading trends are high
Type 2 – Moderate degradation
trend in slightly or moderately
degraded land: 8%
Introduce measure to mitigate
degradation
Type 3 – Stable land, slightly or
moderately degraded: 36%
Preventive interventions
Type 4 – Improving lands: 10%
Reinforcement of enabling
conditions which foster SLM
Source FAO SOLAW 2011
UNCCD
Cost of Action Vs Inaction
The Economics of Land Degradation
For a SDG on Land @ Rio + 20
Land
Degradation
Neutral World
Food
Energy
Forest
Gender
Migration
Water
SLM
Land
/Soil
DLDD
Climate Change
Biodiversity loss
Sustainable land use for
all and by all (in
agriculture, forestry,
energy, urbanization
Improving Ecosystems
Improving Livelihoods
Reversing
Land Degradation
Targets:
• ZNLD by 2030
• ZNFD by 2030
• Drought
preparedness in all
droughts prone
countries by 2020
Efficiency
Resilience
Inclusiveness
Poverty eradication
Improving livelihood through
pro-poor policies on
Sustainable Land & Water
Management
Food Security
Preserving the resource base
for food security – Land
productivity/Soil fertility
improvement at the core of all
long term strategies
Climate change
Land is a win-win context for
adaptation, mitigation &
resilience building
Avoided
Deforestation
Sust. Land Management &
Restoration of degraded
Lands as an alternative to
Deforestation
Drought &
Water stress
Improving water availability &
quality through sustainable
land & water management
Biodiversity
LD Neutrality
Biodiversity conservation
through improvement of land
ecosystems’ conditions
Bio Energies
Avoiding Forced
Migrations
Opportunities for Bio
energies through biomass
production
Changing the DAM paradigm
“Degrade-Abandon-Migrate”
Thank you