Land models are emerging as degradation threatens billions of livelihoods

That UN desertification conferencewhich took place from August 17 to 28 in Mongolia, has delivered three land rejuvenation programs, which together aim to restore a total of almost five million hectares by 2030, or the equivalent of almost seven million football fields.

“This [programmes] show that restoration works,” said UNCCD Chair Yasmine Fouad. “They show that investments in nature strengthen resilience, support livelihoods and provide real benefits for people and communities.”

Currently, there is increasing awareness that land degradation, drought and loss of ecosystems are no longer just environmental problems.

Correct fundamental challenges to food security, water security and economic stabilitysaid Ms Fouad, stressing that the UN was committed to the global goal of restoring one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.

The following are some of the achievements achieved by the World Restoration Flagships winners:

Brazil: Saving the world’s most biodiverse savanna

The Cerrado covers about a quarter of Brazil’s total land area and is the world’s most biodiverse tropical savanna, but has lost more than half of its native vegetation due to large-scale land conversion and climate change, weakening Indigenous Peoples’ rights, food production and water availability.

The initiative, Restoring the Cerrado Savanna in Brazilbrings together more than 180 partners to restore projects in nine Brazilian states through natural regeneration, direct seeding, restoration and agroforestry with native species.

So far, Restoring Brazil’s Cerrado Savannah has restored more than 27,000 hectares and used seeds from more than 150 native plant species in its restoration activities.

The ultimate goal is to restore two million hectares by 2030.

Saudi Arabia: Coping with an arid landscape

Saudi Arabia has a national goal of restoring 40 million hectares of land by 2100 across rangelands, forests, deserts, urban areas and coastal ecosystems and planting 10 billion trees by the same deadline.

That National Greening Program has contributed to this goal by successfully restoring one million hectares of degraded land and planting 159 million trees.

Activities include reforestation, natural regeneration, controlled grazing, reintroduction of native wildlife species, rainwater collection, and use of treated wastewater to support restoration in water-scarce landscapes.

The goal is to restore 2.5 million hectares and plant 215 million trees by 2030, creating 187,000 jobs and improving urban air quality.

Sahel: Restoring land and food security

In the Sahel region, conflict, land degradation, drought and climate change are putting increasing pressure on ecosystems and communities, but since 2018, Sahel Integrated Resilience Initiative has strengthened the food security and livelihoods of more than four million people by rehabilitating more than 335,000 hectares of land and helping to increase agricultural production.

Led by the World Food Program (WFP), this initiative is spread across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger and is already producing results.

To date, monitoring shows that 75 percent of program dependency locations have shown improvements in soil and vegetation conditions, and the number of households requiring humanitarian assistance in these areas has decreased by around 11 percent during the lean season.

By 2030, the goal is to restore 470,000 hectares, increase biodiversity and lock up 20 million tonnes of CO₂.