Land models sprout as degradation threatens billions of livelihoods
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification has announced three winners of its World Restoration Flagships awards to highlight efforts against land degradation. These projects aim to restore millions of hectares of land to improve food security and economic stability globally.
Why it matters
Land degradation threatens the livelihoods of billions, making large-scale restoration efforts critical for global environmental and economic sustainability.
Promising efforts to restore degraded land are now in the spotlight at a time when 40 per cent of the world’s land currently faces degradation and drought, threatening the livelihoods of over three billion people, the head of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) said Wednesday, announcing three winners of its World Restoration Flagships awards.
The UN desertification conference , running from 17 to 28 August in Mongolia, is has awarded three land rejuvenation programmes, which together aim to restore a total of almost five million hectares by 2030, an area equal to nearly seven million football fields.
“These [programmes] show that restoration works,” UNCCD chief Yasmine Fouad said. “They demonstrate that investing in nature strengthens resilience, supports livelihoods and delivers tangible benefits for people and communities.”
There is now a growing recognition that land degradation, drought and ecosystem loss are no longer just environmental concerns.
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