20 July 2016
ELD, PROFOR and UNCCD Marshall Evidence in Support of Land Restoration
story highlights

Partners of the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative are fine-tuning a joint roadmap for the next phase of the Initiative, which aims to increase awareness raising and engage key stakeholders to scale up efforts to promote sustainable land management (SLM).

Some recent studies bolstering the case for large-scale land restoration initiatives include: the ELD synthesis report, 'The Value of Land'; the forthcoming Global Land Outlook, to be published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2017; and an article by the Program on Forests (PROFOR), which draws some lessons from Fazenda da Toca, a large-scale land restoration project in São Paolo, Brazil.

eld_cgiar_unccd_proforJuly 2016: Partners of the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative are fine-tuning a joint roadmap for the next phase of the Initiative, which aims to increase awareness raising and engage key stakeholders to scale up efforts to promote sustainable land management (SLM). Some recent studies bolstering the case for large-scale land restoration initiatives include: the ELD synthesis report, ‘The Value of Land’; the forthcoming Global Land Outlook, to be published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2017; and an article by the Program on Forests (PROFOR), which draws some lessons from Fazenda da Toca, a large-scale land restoration project in São Paolo, Brazil.

During an ELD project workshop held in Bangkok, Thailand, in May 2016, representatives of close to 20 partner institutions analyzed the results of ELD-relevant research and projects undertaken during the first two phases of the Initiative. The partners developed a joint vision for the next phase of the project, covering the period 2016-2020, and agreed to finalize an action plan by September 2016. Some proposed strategies, linked to the three themes of capacity development, awareness raising, and communication and knowledge management, included: conducting country-level case studies and comparative research with identified partners and countries; targeting young people and the private sector; undertaking assessments on emerging threats, such as dust and sandstorms; creating a simulation model on the impacts of SLM; and linking existing resources on ecosystem services to develop a global-scale database that can be scaled down to the national level.

Richard Thomas, Director, CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Dryland Systems and ELD Scientific Director, published an opinion piece titled ‘Why Land Degradation is our Greatest Issue Today,’ ahead of the 2016 World Day to Combat Desertification to be celebrated on 17 June. He discussed the role of the ELD Initiative in developing comprehensive solutions and a shared understanding of the challenge of land degradation, through “the common language of money.” He suggested that while some argue that one cannot put a dollar value on all of nature, the ELD Initiative serves as a sound basis for triggering policies and action – by both the public and private sectors – and for “recasting the traditional narrative of land degradation in socio-economic terms.”

The article highlights ELD estimates that up to US$6.3 to $10.6 trillion in ecosystem services − approximately 10-17% of global gross domestic product (GDP) − is lost annually due to land degradation, as well as the direct impact on global biodiversity, with annual losses of 27,000 species and the livelihoods of 900 million people.

In collaboration with the UNCCD, the CRP on Dryland Systems also organized a multi-stakeholder workshop to discuss and share knowledge and lessons learned on successful case studies of SLM practices and critical factors determining the success of scaling up such practices. The outcomes of the workshop will feed into a chapter focusing on the up-scaling of SLM in the forthcoming inaugural UNCCD Global Land Outlook, to be published in 2017.

In a related example of the potential economic impact of large-scale land restoration of soil and vegetation cover, the multi-donor Program on Forests (PROFOR), published a ‘Field Note’ highlighting the success of Fazenda da Toca, a private enterprise in São Paulo, Brazil, in introducing organic farming and agroforestry practices, including on land with highly degraded soils.

The note observes that, contrary to common perceptions, the Fazenda da Toca project “is on track to demonstrate that their agroforestry practices not only restore degraded areas, but are more profitable than conventional agricultural practices.” The project’s success is attributed to the use of a combination of “smartly sequenced” interventions that include: stabilizing degraded soils with different grass species to augment organic matter; simultaneously planting fast-growing exotic species to provide biomass and shade with fruit trees and high value native timber species to generate cash flow and long-term returns; and exploring a variety of technological innovations such as strategic partnerships to develop technologies and design equipment for mechanized agroforestry in partnership with local companies.

The note concludes that by following these principles “in multiple variations and approaches” Fazenda da Toca’s agroforestry efforts are already bankable without subsidies or other incentives, “showing that agroforestry at scale is viable.”

Brazil’s Climate Coalition, which brings together more than 100 private partners, large companies and NGOs, has identified the project as an example of a good practice that can contribute to the national target of restoring 12 million hectares of degraded land, restoring an additional 15 million hectares of degraded pasture land and enhancing an additional five million hectares of crop-livestock-forestry systems.

Fazenda da Toca’s experience of scalability is also described as offering an important case study for the implementation of the Bonn Challenge, the goal of which is to restore 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded lands by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. [ELD Meeting Report] [Why Land Degradation is our Greatest Issue Today: Op-Ed by Richard Thomas] [PROFOR Field Note: Changing Agricultural Practices in Sao Paolo] [The Value of Land] [IISD RS Story on ELD Synthesis Report on the Value of Land]


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