The Executive Summary of the brief indicates that the proposed "Zero Net Land Degradation" goal can be achieved when land degradation is either avoided or offset by land restoration, with related targets suggested as follows: zero net land degradation by 2030; zero net forest degradation by 2030; and drought preparedness policies implemented in all drought-prone countries by 2020.
4 May 2012: The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has released the executive summary of a forthcoming policy brief titled “A Sustainable Development Goal for Rio+20: Zero Net Land Degradation.”
The brief calls on world leaders attending the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) to focus on the demands placed on land, including from competing uses for agriculture, forestry, pasture, energy production, urbanization and extraction of raw materials. It suggests that the proposed “Zero Net Land Degradation” goal can be achieved when land degradation is either avoided or offset by land restoration. Related targets are suggested as follows: zero net land degradation by 2030; zero net forest degradation by 2030; and drought preparedness policies implemented in all drought-prone countries by 2020.
The policy brief will be officially launched on 23 May 2012, in Berlin, Germany. [UNCCD News Release on the Executive Summary of the Policy Brief][Publication: Executive Summary of A Sustainable Development Goal for Rio+20: Zero Net Land Degradation]