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A major new scientific report points to the urgent need for fundamental changes in the way the world grows food and manages land to prevent irreversible damage to the Earth's ability to support both human life and environmental health. The report, led by Dr. Johan Rockström at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in collaboration with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), comes as the nearly 200 UNCCD member states begin their COP 16 summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Arabia.
The role of land in the stability of the Earth
Earth serves as the foundation of Earth's stability, regulating climate, maintaining biodiversity, and supporting freshwater systems. It provides essential resources, including food, water and raw materials, as described in the report “ Stepping Back from the Abyss: Transforming Earth Governance to Stay Within Planetary Boundaries".
Drawing on approximately 350 sources of information, the report examines land degradation and opportunities for action from the perspective of planetary boundaries. However, deforestation, urbanization and unsustainable agricultural practices are causing global land degradation on an unprecedented scale, threatening various components of the Earth system and human survival itself. Forest and soil degradation undermines the Earth's ability to cope with climate and biodiversity crises, which in turn accelerates land degradation in a vicious cycle.
Alarming scale of land degradation
"Unless we recognize the key role of land and take appropriate action, the consequences will extend to all aspects of life and extend into the future, exacerbating hardships for future generations," said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Tiaw.
Land degradation is now undermining food security, fueling migration and fueling conflict. The global area affected by land degradation—about 15 million square kilometers, larger than the entire continent of Antarctica and almost the size of Russia—is increasing by about a million square kilometers each year.
Planetary boundaries and land use
The report examines both the challenges and potential solutions related to land use within the scientific framework of planetary boundaries, which have rapidly gained political importance since their emergence 15 years ago. Planetary boundaries include nine critical thresholds that are essential to maintaining the stability of our planet.
How humans use and abuse the land directly affects seven of these boundaries, including climate change, species loss and ecosystem viability, freshwater systems, and the cycling of elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus. In addition, land-use change is also an important planetary boundary.
Transformative action or irreversible change
Worryingly, six boundaries have already been breached to date, and two more are close to exceeding their thresholds: ocean acidification and atmospheric aerosol concentrations. Among the planetary boundaries, only stratospheric ozone – the object of the seminal 1989 agreement on the reduction of ozone-depleting chemicals – remains in its "safe working space".
"The purpose of the planetary boundary framework is to provide a measure for achieving human well-being within Earth's ecological boundaries," said Johan Rockström, lead author of the landmark study that introduced the concept in 2009. "We face a precipice and must decide whether to step back and take transformative action, or continue down a path of irreversible environmental change."
Decline of forests and ecosystem services
The benchmark for land use is the area of the world's forests before significant human influence. Retaining more than 75% of the original forest cover keeps us within safe limits, but forest cover has already shrunk to only 60% of its original area, according to a recent update of the Planetary Boundary System by Kathryn Richardson and colleagues. Until recently, terrestrial ecosystems absorbed almost one-third of human-caused CO₂ emissions, although these emissions have doubled. However, over the past decade, deforestation and climate change have reduced the ability of trees and soil to absorb excess CO₂ by 20%.
Unsustainable agriculture and its consequences
Traditional agriculture is a major cause of land degradation, contributing to deforestation, soil erosion and pollution. Unsustainable irrigation methods deplete fresh water resources, and excessive use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers destabilizes entire ecosystems.
Degraded soils lead to lower yields and poorer nutrition, which directly affects the livelihoods of vulnerable populations. Secondary effects include an increased dependence on chemicals and an increase in the amount of land for agriculture. Today, hot spots of land degradation occur due to intensive agricultural production and high demand for irrigation, especially in arid regions such as South Asia, northern China, the high plains of the United States, California, and the Mediterranean.
At the same time, climate change (which has long since breached its own planetary boundaries) is accelerating land degradation through events such as extreme weather events, prolonged droughts and increased flooding. In addition, melting mountain glaciers and disruption of water cycles increase vulnerability, especially in arid regions.
Anthropogenic impact of land degradation
Rapid urbanization exacerbates these problems, contributing to habitat destruction, pollution and biodiversity loss. The effects of land degradation disproportionately affect tropical and low-income countries due to lower resilience and concentrated effects in tropical and arid regions. Women, youth, indigenous peoples and local communities bear the brunt of environmental degradation. For example, women struggle with increased workloads and health risks, while children suffer from malnutrition and severe academic failure.
Government challenges and sustainable development goals
Poor governance and corruption exacerbate these problems. Corruption, for example, contributes to illegal deforestation and resource exploitation, thus perpetuating cycles of degradation and inequality. According to the Prindex initiative, nearly one billion people lack secure land tenure, with the highest concentrations in North Africa (28%), sub-Saharan Africa (26%), and South and Southeast Asia. The constant fear of losing one's home or land often undermines efforts to promote sustainable practices.
Agricultural subsidies often encourage harmful practices that lead to excessive water use and biogeochemical imbalances. Aligning these subsidies with sustainable development goals is critical to effective land management. From 2013 to 2018, more than half a trillion dollars were spent on such subsidies in 2021 countries, according to the 88 report. Of these, almost 90% engaged in inefficient, unfair practices that harmed the environment.
Stopping soil and land degradation
Transformative action to combat land degradation is essential to returning to a safe working space for terrestrial planetary boundaries. Just as planetary boundaries are closely related, so must steps be taken to prevent or slow down their disruption. The principles of fairness and justice are very important in the design and implementation of transformative actions aimed at halting land degradation, ensuring a fair distribution of benefits and burdens.
Reforming agriculture, protecting soils, managing water resources, implementing digital solutions, creating sustainable or “green” supply chains, ensuring equitable land management, and protecting and restoring forests, grasslands, savannas, and peatlands are critical to halting and reversing degradation lands and soils. .
Regenerative agriculture is defined by its outcomes, such as improved soil health, carbon sequestration and increased biodiversity. Agroecology emphasizes holistic land management, integration of forestry, crop production, and livestock production.
Practices such as reforestation, no-till farming, nutrient management, improved grazing, water conservation and harvesting, efficient irrigation, intercropping, use of organic fertilizers and increased use of compost and biochar can increase soil carbon and increase yields.
Technological innovations and protection of ecosystems
Savannahs are under extreme threat from anthropogenic land degradation, but they are essential for human and ecological well-being. Savannahs, a major source of biodiversity and carbon, covering 20% of our planet's land surface, are increasingly being lost to arable land expansion and improper afforestation practices.
The current rate of groundwater extraction exceeds the recharge of 47% of global aquifers, making more efficient irrigation critical to reducing freshwater use in agriculture.
According to experts, the water sector must continue to transition from "grey" infrastructure (dams, reservoirs, canals and treatment plants) to so-called "green" infrastructure, including practices such as reforestation, floodplain restoration, forest conservation or aquifer recharge. More efficient delivery of chemical fertilizers is also needed: currently only 46% of nitrogen and 66% of phosphorus applied as fertilizer is taken up by crops. The remainder flows into freshwater bodies and coastal areas with dire environmental consequences.
New technologies for improving land use
New technologies combined with big data and artificial intelligence have enabled innovations such as precision agriculture, remote sensing and drones that can detect and combat land degradation in real time. Benefits also come from precise application of water, nutrients and pesticides, and early detection of pests and diseases.
For example, Plantix, a free app available in 18 languages, can detect nearly 700 pests and diseases on more than 80 different crops. Finally, improved solar panels can offer households additional sources of income and improve livelihoods while reducing current dependence on forest resources.
Preventing further damage to the Earth
Stricter regulatory measures, improved land management, formalization of land tenure rights and increased corporate responsibility for environmental impact are important steps towards sustainable land management. Despite the existence of numerous multilateral agreements aimed at transforming land use systems, they have largely failed to achieve their goals.
For example, the Glasgow Declaration, signed by 145 countries at the 2021 climate summit, committed to ending deforestation and land degradation by 2030. However, deforestation rates have continued to increase since its adoption. Preserving undisturbed peatlands and restoring 60% of the already degraded ones could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, turning these areas into net carbon sinks by the end of the century. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), currently degraded peatlands account for 4% to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
