The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has published a webpage with answers to frequently asked questions regarding the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) or target on land degradation neutrality (LDN).
31 October 2014: The Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has published a webpage with answers to frequently asked questions regarding the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) or target on land degradation neutrality (LDN).
The outcome from the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) called for international efforts to strive to achieve a land-degradation neutral world (LDNW). The Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs included a target on LDNW in its proposed set of goals, under Goal 15, to ‘Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.’
The UNCCD resource offers answers to the following six questions: Why do we need a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) or Target on Land Degradation?; How is a Land Degradation Neutral World (LDNW) defined?; Is LDN an offset or compensation scheme that could result in a license to degrade?; Since LDN is not a precise quantitative target, it will be difficult to monitor and communicate?; Is LDN feasible? Would it pose an unacceptable financial burden on developing countries?; and What if a commitment to achieve LDN conflicts with existing national laws and regulations?
The resource suggests that LDN would help the international community respond to the challenge of sustainably intensifying the production of food, fuel and fiber to meet future demand without further degrading the finite land resource base. The goal of LDN would be “to maintain or even improve the amount of healthy and productive land resources over time and in line with national sustainable development priorities,” and it is a “target that can be implemented at local, national and even regional scales.” The LDN objective could be achieved through two complementary pathways of action, it notes: sustainable land management (SLM) and ecosystem restoration. [UNCCD Webpage on LDN] [Land Policy & Practice posts on LDNW] [OWG Proposal for SDGs]