DLDD* and Sustainable Development Towards a Land Degradation Neutral World

Luc GNACADJA

Executive Secretary DLDD = Desertification Land Degradation & Drought

Berlin,

23 April 2012 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

What implications for

?

Sustainable Development

70%

rural

Poverty Food security

in 2030

+40%

Energy Water

80%

hunger rural

+50%

in 2030 Land / Soil For Agricult-Forests Biodiv-Settlements& Infrastructure Water in Agric

70%

in 2030

+ 40%

2030:

Urbanization

: to

30 million ha - Deforestation:

70 to 80 % of expansion of cropland expansion lead to deforestation 140 million to 175 million hectares

So much depends on so little

DLDD: Some facts & fi gures

Food

?

Sustainable Development Energy Forest Land / Soil Water Climate Change DLDD Biodiversity loss  More than 50% of agricultural moderately to severely degraded  LD directly affects 1,5 billion people globally  75 billion tons of fertile soil disappear/year  12 million ha/Year lost due to drought and desertification  Six million km2 of drylands bear a legacy of desertification  Biodiversity: 27,000 species lost each year due to LD  70 to 80 % of expansion of cropland lead to deforestation +140 to 175 million ha by 2030

Extreme Poverty

Increased emissions of GHG Food insecurity

& Hunger Increased to Drought & Water stress Biodiversity Loss Deforestation Instability & Crises Migrations DLDD has far-reaching impacts

Drought potential worldwide 2000-2098 Source : University Corporation for Atmospheric Research - http://www2.ucar.edu/news/2904/climate-change-drought-may-threaten-much-globe-within-decades

Climate change will depress agricultural yields in most countries by 2050 given current agricultural practices and crop varieties

Changes in agricultural productivity by 2050 due to Climate change Source: Müller and others 2009. in WDR 2010, Page 145 Note: The figure shows the projected percentage change in yields of 11 major crops (wheat, rice, maize, millet, field pea, sugar beet, sweet potato, soybean, groundnut, sunflower, and rapeseed) from 2046 to 2055, compared with 1996–2005. The values are the mean of three emission scenarios across five global climate models, assuming no CO2 fertilization (see note 54). Large negative yield impacts are projected in many areas that are highly dependent on agriculture

The real value of Drylands

Area: more than 40% of the world land mass Population: 38% of the 7 billion of people living Food: 44% of the World’s food production system 50% of the World’s livestock Forest: Dry forests makes 42% of the earth's tropical and subtropical open or closed forests Biodiversity: Drylands, home to the world’s largest diversity of mammals whose survival, literally, hangs on the arid zone forests.

But GDP in dryland areas is 50% lower than in non-drylands

DLDD & Climate Chan ge

    The % of Earth’s land area stricken by serious drought has more than doubled from the 1970s to the early 2000s Climate change will depress agricultural yields by up to

15-50%

in most countries by 2050, given current agricultural practices and crop varieties Agriculture worldwide accounts for around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The related deforestation contributes about 11% “Improved management of the world’s land (including terrestrial carbon) represents

one third

of the overall global abatement potential in 2030 (and a half in 2020)1. It represents 7Gt CO2e of mitigation in developing countries in 2020,

roughly 40%

of the 17Gt CO2e of mitigation required globally ”

No Carbon neutrality without Land degradation neutrality

Source: World Resources Institute, South Dakota State University, the IUCN and the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration http://www.wri.org/map/global-map-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunities

Cost of Action Vs Inaction

The Economics of Land Degradation

U N C C D

A Zero Net Rate of Land Degradation is within reach

Status & Trends in Global Land Degradation

Source: SOLAW 2011 - FAO

The UNCCD

Environment & Development Convention with a focus on arid semi-arid & subhumid areas Entered into force on 26 December 1996 Ratified by 195 Parties 5 geographical Annexes (RAPs and SRAPs) 98 National Action Programmes (NAPs) 164 Affected Parties 13

The UNCCD Strategic Objectives

U N C C D

4

To mobilize resources through building effective partnerships among all stakeholders To generate Global Benefits

3 2

To improve the Conditions of affected Ecosystems

1

To improve the Livelihood of Affected Populations

*SLM = Sustainable Land Management

For a SDG on Land @ Rio + 20

Reversing Land Degradation

Sustainable land use for all and by all (in agriculture, forestry, energy, urbanization Food Land Degradation Neutral World Energy Forest Gender Migration SLM Water • • •

Targets: ZNLD by 2030 ZNFD by 2030 Drought preparedness in all droughts prone countries by 2020

Land / Soil Climate Change DLDD Biodiversity loss Efficiency Resilience Inclusiveness

An Historical Fact

Mankind is a Desert-making Species

‘ Forests precede civilization Deserts follow them ’ We must build a land degradation neutral world

Poverty eradication Improving livelihood through pro-poor policies on Sustainable Land & Water Management Food Security Preserving the resource base for food security – Land productivity/Soil fertility improvement at the core of all long term strategies Drought & Water stress Improving water availability & quality through sustainable land & water management Climate change Land is a win-win context for adaptation, mitigation & resilience building

LD Neutrality

Biodiversity Biodiversity conservation through improvement of land ecosystems’ conditions Avoided Deforestation Sust. Land Management & Restoration of degraded Lands as an alternative to Deforestation Bio Energies Opportunities for Bio energies through biomass production Avoiding Forced Migrations Changing the DAM paradigm “Degrade -Abandon Migrate”

Thank you