to restore 1 billion hectares of land by 2030. That’s a great starting point, one of the authors says. “When I started compiling [the pledges], I didn’t think it was anything close to 1 billion,” says Barron Orr, lead scientist at UNCCD.
Increasing agricultural and bioenergy demands will continue to degrade a land area of 1.6 billion hectares—the size of South America. The productivity of natural, farm, grazing, and pasture lands will decline by at least 12%, with sub-Saharan Africa affected the most. In contrast, the report finds that the benefits could be substantial if nations can restore 5 billion hectares of land in coming decades. They include:
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