4 December: Land Day

Land Day at UNCCD COP16 tackles the urgent issue of land degradation which threatens food security, biodiversity and climate resilience. Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year, pushing millions into water insecurity and endangering livelihoods. Restoring over 1.5 billion hectares by 2030 is essential to achieving a land-degradation-neutral world.

The UNCCD Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) goal prioritizes avoiding, reducing and reversing land degradation. Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 15, particularly target 15.3, Land Day underscores the need for sustainable land management to secure food, jobs and carbon storage. With up to 40 per cent of the planet's land already degraded, urgent action across sectors and borders is critical.

Event focus

Nature-based solutions (NbS): Highlights cost-effective NbS for climate and ecosystem challenges emphasizing investment, standards and policy integration aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework
Land restoration initiatives: Showcases large-scale efforts to restore degraded land with examples from the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration demonstrating global commitments to sustainable land use
Business for Land: Spotlights the private sector’s role in achieving LDN through the Business for Land initiative promoting sustainable practices across industries and fostering public-private collaboration

Objectives

Raise awareness and promote solutions: Address the critical issue of land degradation, promoting restoration solutions that also combat climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem pollution
Advance nature-based solutions: Scale up sustainable land management and integrate NbS, enhancing restoration efforts across policy and practice in line with the three Rio Conventions
Empower the private sector: Elevate the role of private sector collaboration in land restoration, fostering partnerships between non-state stakeholders and governments and addressing implementation challenges in the emerging restoration industry

By bringing together diverse stakeholders, Land Day at COP16 aims to accelerate global action toward a sustainable, resilient future.