The Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, an SEI partner, launches key report at the 70th United Nations General Assembly. The report, titled The Value of Land, is a comprehensive assessment of land degradation and sustainable land management.
SEI Africa Centre Director Stacey Noel, along with partners, contributed to the main report, as well as acting as lead author on a parallel report geared towards policy and decision-makers.
“Land degradation is a critical issue, and this report is will help to put it on the global agenda. But we must also move from analysis to solutions, and that’s why we have also published a report that offers advice for decision-makers on how they can take action”, said Noel.
Land degradation is a worldwide responsibility
The European Commission Director-General for Environment Daniel Calleja, speaking at an ELD event in Brussels, said that the report “comes at the right time”, just before the adoption of a set of goals as part of the global 2030 agenda for sustainable development, and the climate change discussions.
“The amount of land currently available for cultivation continues to shrink. Today over half of the land used for agriculture worldwide is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation. Moreover land degradation is not limited to the world’s arid regions. In the EU, twelve Member States have declared themselves affected parties under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification”, said Calleja.