STATEMENT

UN REPORT: Protecting Nature Critical to Ending Land, Biodiversity Crisis 

(27 April 2022)— Released today, the second edition of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) Global Land Outlook issues a stark warning about the state of the world’s land resources, with dire implications for people, biodiversity and economies. 

It finds that 40% of the planet’s land is already degraded, which directly affects half of humanity and threatens roughly half of global GDP (US$44 trillion).  And it projects that if business as usual continues through 2050, there will be additional degradation of an area the size of South America. 

The report, released in advance of the UNCCD’s 15th session of the Conference of Parties to be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (COP15, 9-20 May), lays out an action plan for how to address the land crisis. While the emphasis is on restoration, nature conservation also plays a key role. 

The report, for example, calls for the immediate financing for conservation and restoration in developing countries which are home to the greatest share of the global distribution of intact, biodiverse, and carbon-rich ecosystems.

And it calls for the recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples in conservation and restoration efforts. The report states: “The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the principle of free, prior, and informed consent are the fundamental pillars of rights-based approaches to safeguard traditional ecological knowledge, ensure equitable benefit sharing, and promote ecosystem approaches that are essential for wide-scale conservation and restoration.”

In the official United Nations press release about the report, Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, is quoted saying that:

The second edition of the Global Land Outlook is a must-read for the biodiversity community. The future of biodiversity is precarious. We have already degraded nearly 40 % and altered 70% of the land. We cannot afford to have another “lost decade” for nature and need to act now for a future of life in harmony with nature. The GLO2 shows pathways, enablers and knowledge that we should apply to effectively implement the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Brian O’Donnell, Director, Campaign for Nature, said:

The Global Land Outlook is yet another reminder of the perilous state our natural world faces should we fail to take immediate action. Protecting at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean and restoring degraded areas are among the critical solutions we need to implement now to bring the world’s lands back to health. If we don’t, people, biodiversity and economies will suffer. Let’s all heed the warnings of this report and act on the opportunities it recommends for a better future.

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About Campaign for Nature

The Campaign for Nature works with scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and a growing coalition of nearly 100 countries around the world who are calling on policymakers to commit to clear and ambitious targets to be agreed upon at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China in 2022 to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030 and work with Indigenous leaders to ensure full respect for Indigenous rights.

Contact:

Kirsten Weymouth
kweymouth@ngs.org
+1 703.928.4995 in Washington