Healing Our Earth: The 2025 Call to Action on Desertification

18 Jun Healing Our Earth: The 2025 Call to Action on Desertification

This article covers “Daily Current Affairs”  and the Topic Healing Our Earth: The 2025 Call to Action on Desertification

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GS-3-Environment- Healing Our Earth: The 2025 Call to Action on Desertification

FOR PRELIMS

What are the main causes and consequences of land degradation and desertification? 

FOR MAINS

What are the key features and role of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification? 

Why in the News? 

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2025 was observed on June 17 with the theme “Restore the Land. Unlock the Opportunities.” The UN revealed that around 16 million sq km of land—equal to the size of South America—is at risk of severe degradation by 2050. Currently, land degradation and drought cost the global economy $878 billion annually, while restoring 1.5 billion hectares could unlock a trillion-dollar restoration economy, highlighting the urgent need for investment and private sector participation.

The Scale of the Global Crisis

1. Massive Land at Risk: About 16 million sq km of land—equal to South America—may be severely degraded by 2050, threatening ecosystems, agriculture, and biodiversity.
2. Economic Toll: Land degradation and drought cost the global economy $878 billion annually, over three times the global aid provided in 2023.
3. Livelihood and Food Security Threats: Degraded land reduces agricultural productivity, worsens food insecurity, and displaces vulnerable populations, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
4. Climate and Ecological Impact: It accelerates biodiversity loss, disrupts water cycles, and increases GHG emissions, intensifying climate change.
5. Security Concerns: Resource scarcity due to land degradation can fuel conflict, migration, and instability, especially in fragile regions.

Causes of desertification:

1. Deforestation: Removal of forests reduces soil stability and accelerates erosion and degradation.
2. Unsustainable Agriculture: Over-cultivation, monocropping, and chemical overuse exhaust soil nutrients.
3. Overgrazing: Excessive grazing by livestock strips vegetation cover, exposing soil to erosion.
4. Urban Expansion: Unplanned urban growth leads to land sealing and loss of productive land.
5. Climate Change: Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall intensify droughts and land degradation.
6. Water Scarcity: Limited water availability affects soil health and vegetation growth.
7. Soil Salinization: Poor irrigation practices cause salt build-up, reducing soil fertility.
8. Poverty and Overconsumption: Resource overuse due to poverty and unsustainable lifestyles worsens degradation.

Economic Opportunity in Restoration

1. Massive Investment Need: Achieving global land restoration targets by 2030 requires an estimated $1 billion investment per day.
2. High Return Potential: For every $1 invested in land restoration, the return can range between $7 to $30, thanks to improved ecosystem services and livelihoods.
3. Trillion-Dollar Opportunity: Restoring 1 billion hectares of degraded land globally could generate up to $1.8 trillion in annual economic returns.
4. Growth of a Restoration Economy: Land restoration holds the potential to evolve into a trillion-dollar global economic sector, contributing significantly to sustainable development.
5. Environmental Benefits: Restoration enhances soil fertility, water availability, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, vital for combating climate change.
6. Job Creation Potential: Restoration initiatives, especially in developing regions, could create millions of green jobs in sectors like agriculture, forestry, and ecosystem management.
7. Current Funding Deficit: At present, the private sector contributes only 6% of total restoration financing, highlighting a major investment gap.
8. Urgent Need for Private Sector Involvement: To unlock full economic and ecological potential, greater private investment and public-private partnerships are essential.

Regional Highlights

Role of the UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)

1. Established: Formed in 1994, UNCCD is the only legally binding international treaty focused exclusively on land degradation, desertification, and drought mitigation.
2. Membership: Signed by 197 parties, including India, ensuring near-universal global representation and cooperation.
3. Strategic Approach: Implements initiatives through National Action Plans (NAPs), regional coordination, and global partnerships for effective land governance.
4. Core Mandate: Aims to promote sustainable land management, enhance drought resilience, and achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030 as part of the SDGs.
5. Science-Policy Interface: Strengthens evidence-based policymaking through the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) to guide land restoration efforts globally.
6. Monitoring & Reporting: Tracks progress through a robust monitoring system, using performance indicators and national reporting to assess implementation outcomes.
7. Mobilising Finance & Innovation: Works to mobilize technical and financial support, engaging with public and private stakeholders to scale up investments in land restoration and nature-based solutions.

Way Forward

1. Scale up public-private financing: Bridge the substantial funding gap by increasing private sector involvement beyond the current 6% share and encouraging blended finance models.
2. Promote nature-based solutions: Adopt sustainable practices like agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, rainwater harvesting, and soil conservation to restore ecosystems.
3. Integrate land restoration into climate and SDG frameworks: Align land management efforts with climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, food security, and poverty reduction goals.
4. Empower local communities: Strengthen grassroots participation by supporting community-led and indigenous initiatives, especially in vulnerable rural areas.
5. Strengthen governance and land rights: Improve land tenure systems and ensure secure land rights for women, farmers, and indigenous peoples to enhance stewardship.
6. Invest in research and innovation: Foster scientific research, geospatial mapping, and the use of frontier technologies (AI, remote sensing) for better decision-making and impact assessment.
7. Build capacity and awareness: Train farmers, officials, and local institutions in sustainable land management practices and drought preparedness.
8. Enhance international cooperation: Promote cross-border collaboration, policy harmonization, and knowledge exchange through platforms like UNCCD and regional alliances.

Conclusion

Land restoration is far more than an environmental imperative — it is a cornerstone of global economic resilience, social stability, and human well-being. Restoring degraded land offers a powerful opportunity to regenerate ecosystems, improve food and water security, create sustainable livelihoods, and combat the climate crisis. It represents a win-win solution that nurtures both people and the planet while unlocking long-term prosperity. As aptly stated by Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD:
“A restored land is a land of endless opportunities… Without land, there can be no livelihoods, peace, or prosperity.”

Prelims Questions

Q. With reference to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), consider the following statements:
1. It is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
2. The headquarters of UNCCD is located in Bonn, Germany.
3. India has pledged to restore over 10 million hectares of degraded land under the Bonn Challenge.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: D

Mains Questions

Q.  Land degradation and desertification pose serious threats to global food security, livelihoods, and environmental stability. In light of the UNCCD’s efforts and the 2025 observance of the International Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, discuss the causes, impacts, and opportunities in restoring degraded land.

                                                                                                                                                         (250 words, 15 marks)