UN calls for $2.6 trillion to combat land degradation

In late 2024, the United Nations convened discussions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focusing on the urgent need to address land degradation exacerbated by climate change. Ibrahim Thiaw, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), highlighted that restoring the world's degraded land requires a minimum investment of $2.6 trillion by the decade's end. This necessity arises amidst increasing food demands due to a growing global population which is straining environmental resources and increasing the risks of social upheaval. The current rate of land degradation is substantial, with around 15 million square kilometers already affected and worsening annually by approximately one million square kilometers. A significant part of the funding required is expected to come from the private sector, which presently contributes only 6% of the investments necessary for land rehabilitation. Thiaw criticized the discrepancy between the sectors responsible for land degradation—primarily food production, under the private sector's purview—and those attempting to restore the land. Governments, he noted, hold the responsibility to enforce robust land-use policies that can facilitate these investments. The ongoing talks follow several prior UN initiatives, where financing—or the lack thereof—was a central theme. To mobilize investment totaling $2.6 trillion, the global community must bridge an annual financial shortfall of $278 billion, especially considering that just $66 billion was allocated to land restoration efforts in 2022. Thiaw stressed that the resources required for these efforts should not be viewed as charity but rather as vital investments to maintain global balance. He encouraged nations to enhance their commitments, currently targeting 900 million hectares of land, to achieve a more ambitious goal of 1.5 billion hectares and to expedite restoration initiatives. Failure to act could hinder efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect biodiversity, as agriculture significantly contributes to these environmental threats.