What does the Global Land Outlook 2nd Edition say about soil health?
In May 2022, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) issued the second edition of their flagship report, ‘Global Land Outlook: Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience’ (GLO2).
The report shares accessible, evidence-based strategies with stakeholders in an effort to advance and implement land restoration efforts across the Globe.
By projecting the consequences of three possible land-use scenarios up to 2050, the UNCCD demonstrates that every land interaction has an outcome that needs to be considered in an intentional way. The scenarios include a business-as-usual approach (Baseline), a Restoration approach that targets cropland, grazing land and natural land, and a Restoration & Protection scenario that assumes the same benefits as the Restoration scenario but includes the protection of natural areas from conversion for human use in the future.
Through communicating context-specific, good practice project examples from around the world, the GLO2 demonstrates the impact of land restoration on poverty reduction, gender equality, food security, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. This makes the interconnectedness and achievability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) clear and adaptable in almost all settings and many spatial scales. The report also notes that “many successful restoration initiatives are implemented by local communities, often empowered by the protection of their rights and heritage.”
The examples shared in the GLO2 show that “land restoration is receiving increased attention by communities, businesses, and governments alike.” By connecting stakeholders across sectors, “the examples … show that inclusive and responsible governance of land resources is an effective way to balance trade-offs and harness synergies that optimize restoration outcomes.”
The GLO2 differs from its 2017 precursor by focusing solely on terrestrial ecosystems without directly addressing coastal and marine restoration.
“Land is the operative link between biodiversity loss and climate change, and therefore must be the primary focus of any meaningful intervention to tackle these intertwined crises. Restoring degraded land and soil provides the most fertile ground on which to take immediate and concerted action.”
At the beginning of the report, the GLO2 outlines 10 key messages that are central to land and soil restoration. In message 5, Transforming Food Systems, the stark realization that soil health and below-ground biodiversity have “been largely neglected by the industrial agricultural revolution of the last century” is juxtaposed against the reality that “food systems are responsible for 80% of deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and are the single greatest cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss.”
Drylands, which account for more than 40% of the global terrestrial area and 44% of agriculturally productive land, are particularly vulnerable to desertification and land and soil degradation. And food production is the biggest culprit.
In the GLO2 review of restoration projects, it was found that “many traditional and modern food production practices can enable agriculture to pivot from being the primary cause of degradation to becoming the principal catalyst for land and soil restoration.” The report presents the land restoration agenda to help strategize the most efficient and holistic interventions for land and soil health.
“The land restoration agenda is a multiple benefits strategy that reverses past land and ecosystem degradation while creating opportunities that improve livelihoods and prepare us for future challenges.”
The land restoration agenda focuses on a recovery from land and soil degradation through ature-positive food production, water protection, climate action, biodiversity conservation, green (blue) infrastructure, job creation, and inclusive and responsible land governance. The success and implementation of the agenda is contingent upon establishing partnerships, leveraging capital, and raising awareness that motivates restorative action that “takes place locally, on the ground, implemented by communities with a shared vision.”
Making a strong business case for land restoration, the GLO2 points to scientific findings that “each dollar invested in restoring degraded land is estimated to return between USD 7-30 in economic benefits.”
“Investing in large-scale land restoration to combat desertification, soil erosion, and loss of agricultural production is a win-win solution. It is a win for the environment. It is a win for the climate. It is a win for the economy, and for the livelihoods of local communities. Land restoration is a powerful and cost-effective sustainable development tool.”
<insert quote>“Investing in large-scale land restoration to combat desertification, soil erosion, and loss of agricultural production is a win-win solution. It is a win for the environment. It is a win for the climate. It is a win for the economy, and for the livelihoods of local communities. Land restoration is a powerful and cost-effective sustainable development tool.” Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary
Success in land and soil restoration requires predictable support and a plan of action that is locally nuanced and centred on human and technical capacity for development.
A business-as-usual approach is not going to save our soils, and the GLO2 makes conceptualising this accessible for all, inciting action for global soil health.
Find the Global Land Outlook 2nd Edition, and plenty of other useful and relevant resources, in the CA4SH Resource Library!
