IRP Report: Land Restoration for achieving the SDGs

In this think piece, we recognize that land is one of Earth’s most important and limiting resources, that its inefficient and inappropriate use continues to result in degradation, and that degradation does and will have dire consequences on human well-being and the earth systems we depend on. Rather than dwelling on the problem, however, we explore solutions: opportunities to exponentially change the way we engage with this most fundamental resource. The report is driven by the authors’ explorations of the inextricable links between land stewardship through restoration and rehabilitation and almost all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (figure 1.1). It is also consistent with and supports many of the messages included in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) publication, “A natural fix: A joined-up approach delivering the global goals for sustainable development”, which focuses explicitly on land degradation neutrality (SDG target 15.3. UNCCD 2016).