Environmental News from UN:
- Global food systems are responsible for 80% of the world’s deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and contribute to 40% of the planet’s degraded land, according to the latest report by the U.N.’s Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
- For the first time, the report recommends scaling up the land rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) to ensure the success of nature and land restoration.
- The cost to restore one billion degraded hectares (2.47 billion acres) of land by 2030 is estimated to be $300 billion annually. Investing in restoration creates benefits that exceed the costs, says the report, as every dollar invested in restoration activities provides a $7-30 return in economic benefits.
- The report was launched in the lead-up to the UNCCD’s COP15 summit, which will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from May 9 to May 20, 2022.
In addition to the report’s call to action is a list of 250 solutions and good practice examples from around the world that illustrate ways to combat environmental degradation, restore land health and improve living conditions. These range from breeding indigenous drought-tolerant crops in Burundi to restoring forest landscapes with regenerative agriculture and shade-grown coffee in Mozambique.
For the first time, the report also recommends scaling up the land rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) to ensure the success of nature restoration projects.
The IPLC’s role in the land restoration was highlighted in the Glasgow Declaration of Forests and Land Use at last year’s U.N. climate conference, which pledged $1.7 billion to secure land tenure and forest rights for communities. Recent research has also highlighted that reaching the Paris Agreement’s climate goal to maintain global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius won’t be possible without protecting IPLC lands.
“Land is the connector between biodiversity and climate change, between humans and nature,” says Miriam Medel, the UNCCD’s chief of external relations, policy, and advocacy. Her team led the production of the GLO2 report’s research which spanned over five years, and collaborated with 21 organizations.
The report was launched in the lead-up to the UNCCD’s COP15 summit, which will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from May 9 to May 20, 2022.
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Source: Mongabay