Land degradation consequences today
Human has polluted the environment up to the level that is irreversible. The level of greenhouse gasses is expected to see dangerous high in a decade or more. Biodiversity is severely reduced due to more deforestation and urbanization. This all has affected the quality of land, which is the primary source of income for more than half of the population. Moreover, these lands are main source of agriculture that feeds almost the total population on the Earth.
Global warming enables desertification and drought, resulting in land degradation. Along with climate change, the extension of agriculture, cities and infrastructure are reasons of degradation of land. It damages the well-being of as many as 3.2 billion people, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Calling the land our greatest ally, he said, it’s presently “suffering”. UN chief also made the land degradation cause of biodiversity loss and surfacing of infectious diseases like Covid.
Land restoration can be game changer
Speaking on the occasion of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, Guterres emphasized the need of restoring degraded land. This will eliminate carbon from the environment, he said. With the help of this process, vulnerable communities will adapt to climate change. Agriculture production on these additional lands may generate an extra $1.4 trillion dollars annually, he projected. UN head called the land restoration a process that is “simple, inexpensive and accessible to all”. With mounting global population, demand for food, raw materials, roads and homes has also grown drastically.
To fulfill this ever-rising demand, humans have altered around three quarters of the planet’s surface. That is beyond the land that is permanently frozen. At this point, it’s paramount and inevitable to avoid, slow down and reverse the loss of productive land and natural ecosystems. This is the only way to get a speedy recovery from pandemic economic impacts and to ensure the long-term survival of people and the Earth. Creating more hopes, Guterres referred the land restoration process as “the most democratic and pro-poor way” that will speed up our drive towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
Land degradation consequences today
According to the UN, the restoration of degraded land assures economic resilience, more jobs, increasing incomes and rising food security level. Also, this process helps the recovery of biodiversity and locking away of carbon. Further, this results in reducing climate change impacts and reinforcing a green recovery from the pandemic impacts. The UN chief called on the world to “make healthy land central to all our planning”, reminding that 2021 marks the beginning of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay spoke on the “dramatic impact” that desertification put on “our common environmental heritages”. This poses a “considerable threat” to the health of communities, global peace and sustainable development, she said. In view of two billion people currently confronting water crisis worldwide, Azoulay speculated that three billion people may have to face similar situation by 2050. Moreover, citing UN report, she said, 135 million people may have to migrate globally by 2030.
Deliver SDGs and leave no one behind
Current global challenges linked to land degradation include forced migration, hunger and climate change. According to the UN, the land restoration process will help us in delivering the SDGs and leave no one behind. However, it is human activities and climatic variations that primarily cause desertification, or the degradation of land in arid areas. This affects the life and routine of as many as three billion people on the planet. Over a third of the Earth’s land surface comes under drylands, extremely prone to over-exploitation and inappropriate land use. This includes overgrazing or bad irrigation practices. Finally, an estimated 75 percent land globally on the planet is degraded.
