Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Nature and the benefits it provides are deteriorating at an unprecedented rate worldwide. Healthy ecosystems and the biological diversity they support provide humanity with essential goods and services. Yet human activity is destroying 10 million hectares of forests a year and putting 40,000 species at risk of extinction, severely diminishing terrestrial ecosystems’ capacity to sustain the planet.
Goal 15 and the environment
Forests cover one-third of the Earth's land mass, are home to 80 per cent of terrestrial species and absorb 30 per cent of emissions from industry and fossil fuels. Deforestation infringes on critical ecosystem services and contributes over 11 per cent of total anthropogenic global greenhouse gases. Land degradation also triggers competition for scarce resources, which can lead to migration and insecurity while exacerbating access and income inequalities.
Countries must deliver on their existing commitments to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land to keep global temperature rise below 2°C, ensure food security for a growing population and slow the rate of species extinctions. Restoration through agroforestry alone has the potential to increase food security for 1.3 billion people. Governments must also designate more areas for protection and implement stricter policies to safeguard protected areas like national parks from poachers and illegal resource extraction.
Assigning economic value to ecosystem services is one key way to protect life on land. This can be achieved through government policies related to procurement, taxation, trade and regulation; and businesses and financial institutions’ decisions on investment, risk and disclosure. Annual investment in nature based-solutions must also more than triple by 2030 and increase four-fold by 2050 if the world is to meet its climate crisis, biodiversity and land degradation targets.
UNEP’s work on Goal 15
Terrestrial ecosystems regulate the climate, protect people from floods and landslides, and provide food, water and important benefits. Some quantified estimates suggest that over half of the world's GDP is derived from nature, while forests alone support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people.
UNEP is focused on delivering science-based solutions to reverse the loss of nature and restore ecosystems through conservation, restoration and the sustainable use of nature. UNEP works closely with governments, industry and civil society organizations to ensure the sustainable use of resources at all levels. UNEP recognizes that ecosystem degradation poses a greater risk to poorer communities, women, children and Indigenous Peoples and does critical work to mobilize funds, promote the environmental rule of law, and raise public awareness of environmental rights.
UNEP also collaborates closely with partners to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in December 2022, which sets out to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030
Led by UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it covers terrestrial as well as coastal and marine ecosystems. A global call to action, it will draw together political support, scientific research, and financial muscle to massively scale up restoration.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Hosted by UNEP, this international agreement aims to ensure that the cross-border trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Hosted by UNEP, this independent intergovernmental body helps to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services, supporting conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity.
Great Apes Survival Partnership
UNEP launched this collaboration in 2001 to help ensure the long-term survival of gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans and their habitat in Africa and Asia.
The Vanishing Treasures programme aims to better understand the impact of climate change on snow leopards, Bengal tigers, and mountain gorillas to improve the protection of these ever-diminishing species while supporting local mountain communities that live alongside them.
This series of reports quantifies public and private finance flows to nature-based solutions, the extent to which finance flows are aligned with global targets and the investment needed to limit global warming to below 1.5°C, halt biodiversity loss and achieve land degradation neutrality.
