All publications and documents

As the supply of productive land dries up and the population grows by more than 1 billion in the next 15 years, competition is intensifying for land within countries and globally. Many countries are grappling with the very basic problem of how to feed their populations, forcing countries to invest and secure land for agriculture, forestry and fisheries in distant regions, in part to feed their…

Numbers can tell a compelling story. In this brochure, the numbers highlight how much we rely on productive land. Amongst other valuable services, land feeds our families, provides fresh water and powers our future ambitions. Much of the data collected here, however, demonstrate how close we are to pushing our relationship with the land to breaking point. The magnitude of the…

This working paper calls for urgent actions to protect human health and wellbeing. Lack of awareness of land degradation and its drivers and impacts can become a barrier to action. Raising knowledge and awareness of the driving forces and consequences in the social, economic and environmental dimensions is crucial, and should be implemented at every level. Actions across jurisdictions and…

Ecologists often engage in global-scale research through partnerships among scientists from many disciplines. Such research projects require collaboration, interdisciplinary thinking, and strong communication skills. We advocate including these three practices as an integral part of ecology education at the kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12) level, as opposed to waiting…