ELD CAMPUS

Module: Land degradation versus

sustainable land management
In this module you will learn about:
▪ Definition, dimension and causes of land degradation;
▪ Sustainable land management (SLM) practices;
▪ Barriers for SLM adoption and gender concerns;
▪ Instruments to incentivise SLM and necessary action on different
levels;
▪ International policy framework of action against land degradation
- The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD)
- The land degradation neutrality (LDN) policy framework, and
- The UN Decade (2021-2030) on Ecosystem Restoration.

If you want to deepen your know-how on land degradation and

sustainable land management, further information is provided in the
script on this module and links are provided at the end of this
presentation.
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Definitions

Land degradation
Defined by the United Nations as a reduction or loss of the biological
or economic productivity and complexity of rain-fed cropland,
irrigated cropland or range, pasture, forest, and woodland.

Soil degradation
Soil degradation is described by physical, chemical, and biological
degradation processes acting upon the soil and impacting soil
resources and environmental quality, as well as human well-being
and livelihoods (FAO E-learning Centre 2019, glossary).

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Dimension of land degradation

During the past decade, several studies and reports altered the
perspective of society’s perception of land degradation, i.e. the loss
of soil productivity.

The ELD Value of Land report (2015) concludes that worldwide,

52% of land used for agriculture is moderately or severely
affected by land and soil degradation.

According to an IPBES (2018) report, more than 75% of the Earth’s

land areas are substantially degraded, undermining the well-
being of 3.2 billion people.

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Loss of soil productivity

According to Nkonya et al. (2016), the total global area affected by

declining soil productivity over the last 30 years globally is around
~30% (see map).
Over 10 million hectares of arable land worldwide are
degrading every year- an area roughly 1/3 the size of Germany
(Pimentel 1995). The UNCCD indicates a higher figure of 12 million
ha/year.

Source: Nkonya et al. 2016

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Recent studies on land degradation

In the script, you will find more details on the reports and their
findings.

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Causes of land degradation

According to IPBES 2018, the underlying drivers of land degradation

are:

▪ High and rising per capita consumption, amplified by

continued population growth…;

▪ the high-consumption lifestyles in most developed economies,

combined with rising consumption in developing and emerging
economies;

▪ Unsustainable levels of agricultural expansion, natural

resource and mineral extraction, and urbanisation;

▪ The growing demand for food, fodder, fuel, and raw

materials….
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Causes of land degradation

©GIZ/Sebastian Koch

© Emmanuelle Quillérou

© GIZ/Jörg Böthling

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Drivers related to land degradation

Source: ELD Initiative 2013, adapted from von Braun et al. 2013

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 Categories of land degradation

Source: Harari, N., Gavilano, A. and Liniger, HP.. 2017. Where people and their land are safer: A Compendium of Good Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction. Bern and Lucerne,
Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, and Swiss NGO Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Platform, with Bern Open Publishing.
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Loss of environmental services
Land degradation negatively affects the provision of ecosystem
services, for example
▪ water availability
▪ groundwater recharge
▪ productivity
▪ habitats/biodiversity
▪ carbon sequestration…

Land degradation also negatively

affects
▪ food security
▪ resilience to climate shocks
and it causes
Source: [Link]
▪ further negative environmental effects in the region and,
▪ finally, migration, hunger, poverty…
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 Acceleration of climate change

Land degradation is a major contributor to climate change, while

climate change can exacerbate the impacts of land degradation and
reduce the viability of some options for avoiding, reducing and
reversing land degradation (IPBES 2018).

After the oceans, soils act as biggest carbon sink in the

biosphere! (more than the atmosphere + the earth’s vegetation
combined)
Soil ≈ 1500–2000 Gt C in ≈ 800 Gt C in the
the top metre of soil top 30 cm of soil 2

All the greenhouse gas

emissions generated by human
activity could be offset by an
annual increase of 0.4% in the
global amount of soil carbon
(Idea of the 4per1000-Initiative)
Vegetation ≈ 450–680 Gt C
Atmosphere ≈ 830 Gt C

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Source (adapted from): [Link]
Sustainable land management (SLM) practices

SLM is a solution to halt and reverse the above-mentioned

degradation trends.

▪ SLM practices are those that serve to maintain ecological

resilience and the stability of ecosystem services…

▪ SLM does not refer to a single method or practice, but is rather a

portfolio of possible technologies, practices, and
approaches to land management…

▪ SLM involves all relevant and affected stakeholders and their

needs in a participatory manner.

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Categories of sustainable land management

You can find more details on

these measures in the script!

Source: Harari, N., Gavilano, A. and Liniger, HP. (2017) where people and their land are safer: A Compendium of Good Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction. Bern
and Lucerne, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, and Swiss NGO Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Platform, with Bern
Open Publishing
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Benefits of SLM

SLM have proven positive socio-economic, ecological,

economic and institutional benefits, for instance:
▪ Higher crop yields, diversification; high-value market produce;
▪ Increased household income;
▪ Improved soil health and biodiversity;
▪ Increased water holding capacity and groundwater recharge;
▪ Increased soil organic matter / less erosion;
▪ Improved resilience to CC/extreme weather events;
▪ Higher carbon storage;
▪ Improved organisational structures / local governance systems…

Learn more about the benefits of SLM in the script!

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Barriers for SLM adoption
Even though beneficial, there are limiting factors for SLM:
▪ Many SLM practices are investment or
labour-intensive (terracing, stone lines,
water spreading weirs, etc.)
▪ Economic returns are not always
achieved immediately, but in the medium-/
long-term
©GIZ/Ulrich Scholz

▪ Agricultural service providers and

extension often focus on short-term gains
and neglect sustainable soil and
resources management
→ lack of know-how
▪ Weak tenure security and limited access
to finances, inputs and machinery ©GIZ

▪ Social and cultural barriers to innovations

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Gender dimension

▪ Less than 15% of agricultural land is held

by women globally.
▪ Many lack or are denied rights to the
land. This discourages women from
investing time into sustainable practices
for land.
▪ Integrating gender aspects in the © GIZ/Martin Egbert

planning, design, implementation, and

evaluation of projects and investments in
SLM is thus very important.
▪ The ultimate goal should be to reduce
gender inequalities and ensure that
men and women can equally benefit
from any intervention. © Ida Kubiszewski

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Instruments to incentivise SLM

Unfortunately, a lot of disincentives (adverse incentives) that prevent

or divert investment from SLM exist until today, so that a change of
framework conditions is needed.

Positive incentives shall catalyse a large-scale and enduring

adoption of soil protection measures and sustainable agricultural
practices

They should ideally be effective beyond the immediate intervention

area of government or donor-funded projects.

Only a certain combination of different instruments might create

an enabling environment, for example formal (policy), informal
(social), technical (know-how transfer) and/or private sector
instruments (access to inputs, etc.).

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Necessary action to promote SLM (local level)

▪ Ensure access to land (incl. young entrepreneurs and women)

▪ Facilitate the definition and implementation of locally accepted
regulations for the use of land and natural resources
▪ Put SLM high on the local agendas / include SLM into
budgets
▪ Increase awareness on environmental issues
▪ Encourage farmer-to-farmer visits and local prizes and awards
for SLM
▪ Provide effective, accessible extension services and
knowledge transfer
▪ Enhance community collaboration to reduce labour intensity
▪ Conduct participatory land use planning and harmonise inter-
sectoral planning
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Necessary action to promote SLM (national level)

▪ Ensure tenure security/legal rights

▪ Create a favouring regulatory framework, incl. standards
and guidelines and the possibility to conclude informal user
agreements
▪ Facilitate access to finance and/or incentives (for example
credits, subsidies, inputs, carbon credits, payment for
environmental services, grant schemes, taxing privileges)
▪ Increase awareness (through mass media)
▪ Set-up effective and accessible extension services and
know-how transfer (re-education of extension workers,
farmer-to-farmer, ICT, soil testing, etc.)

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Necessary action to promote SLM (national level)

▪ Provide risk insurance (for example conversion/retention

premiums, insurances, etc.)
▪ Improve market infrastructure and access, i.e. for ecological
labelling/bio-markets
▪ Improve access to machinery / improved community
collaboration to reduce labour intensity; food for work/cash for
work schemes
▪ Reduce perverse and adverse incentives = review fertiliser
subsidies, harmonise inter-sectoral planning, etc.

You can find more details on suitable

(policy) instruments for SLM promotion
and upscaling in the script!
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Necessary action to promote SLM (international level)

On the international level, the following can be done by

policy makers to promote sustainable land management:

▪ Put land degradation higher on the (cross-sectoral) political

agendas
▪ Link climate adaptation and mitigation with SLM
▪ Adapt trade conditions and eliminate perverse subsidies in
the agricultural sector which promote unsustainable land use
▪ Change the way economic accounting is done / valuate
ecosystem services within plans and strategies (=Natural Capital
Accounting)
▪ Open up more funding mechanisms for SLM, by including
SLM into payment for environmental services schemes and
climate funds (i.e. Green Climate Fund)
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Land degradation neutrality (LDN)

Based on SDG 15.3, 121 countries have meanwhile set themselves

voluntary targets to stop and reverse land degradation….

SDG 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded

land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought
and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral
world (LDN)

LDN

“A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources

necessary to support ecosystem functions and services
and enhance food security remain stable or increase within
specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.”

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Land degradation neutrality framework

LDN means no net loss of healthy land.

„Neutrality“ implies that degradation processes cannot be stopped
completely, but counteracted by restoration of degraded land to
achieve a net balance.

Source: UNCCD 2017. The Global Land Outlook (layout modified)

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Monitoring of land degradation

Indicators to measure land degradation:

▪ Land cover
▪ Land productivity
▪ Soil carbon stocks

Source: [Link]

Degradation occurs when

a. negative land cover change occurs, and/or
b. the net primary production (NPP) decreases significantly and/or
c. the soil carbon (SOC) decreases significantly.

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LDN response hierarchy

Source: UNCCD 2017. The Global Land Outlook (layout modified)

It is to be noted that prevention (avoid) measures are

usually less costly than reduction or restauration measures!
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121 countries already set their LDN targets

Source: [Link]

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Areas of action –
The LDN Target Setting Programme (by UNCCD & The Global
Mechanism)

Source: UNCCD 2017. The Global Land Outlook (supplemented)

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UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

In March 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a declaration on

the UN Decade (2021-2030) on Ecosystem Restoration.
The declaration stresses

“the importance of the ecosystem approach for the

integrated management of land, water and living resources
and the need to step up efforts to tackle desertification,
land degradation, erosion and drought, biodiversity loss
and water scarcity, which are seen as major environmental,
economic and social challenges for global sustainable
development”.

It furthermore recognises the important linkages between climate

change, biodiversity diversity and land use and highlights the
importance of SDG 15.
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All UN Member States are encouraged to:

▪ foster political will, the mobilisation of resources, capacity-

building, scientific research and cooperation and momentum
for ecosystem restoration….;
▪ mainstream ecosystem restoration into policies and
plans …, thereby creating opportunities for ecosystems to
increase their adaptive capacity and opportunities to
maintain and improve livelihoods for all;
▪ develop and implement policies and plans to prevent
ecosystem degradation…;
▪ build on and reinforce existing restoration initiatives in order
to scale up good practices…

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Further information and reading:
Script for this module
Further resources:
The Status of the World’s Soil Resources Report (FAO, 2015)
The Value of Land (ELD Initiative, 2015)
Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement (Nkonya et al., 2016)
Global Land Outlook (UNCCD, 2017)
Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration (IPBES, 2018)
World Atlas of Desertification (JRC, 2018)

IPCC report – Climate Change and Land (IPCC, 2019)

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Further information and reading:

Further information:

SLM Mainstreaming Tool (WOCAT)

Video on desertification (UNCCD, 2011)

Video on LDN (UNCCD, 2015)
Video on LDN (BMZ, 2019)
Video on Land for life- India (UNCCD, 2014)

Sustainable land management for upscaled climate action (GIZ, 2018)

Potentials for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Agriculture (GIZ, 2018)

Rapid climate smartness assessment of GIZ soil protection and rehabilitation

technologies in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, and India (CIAT, 2017)

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If you have questions, please contact us:
info@[Link]

You can find further information on our

website:
[Link]

Follow us!
@ELD_Initiative
#ELDsolutions

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