Envisioning a National System of Land Restoration (Part 1) and Part (2)
Publication year
Resource type
UNCCD Library
Material Type
news article
With contributions from Muralee Thummarukudy, David Wupper, Agustin Fallas Santana, Nicole Harari, Markus Giger, Ingrid Teich, Shaon Bandopadhyay (Santhakumar and Apoorva take the responsibility for mistakes/inadequacies, if any, in the completed article)
Abstract
Different socio-economic factors and policies/institutions together may impact the effectiveness of efforts towards land restoration in different contexts/countries. The contribution of any one factor, say private property rights, may be different in different contexts depending on the presence (or absence) of other enabling factors. Even when laws which aim at land restoration are made, their impact may depend on their actual enforcement, which in turn, may depend on governance and pressure from citizens. The latter and the willingness of governments to invest in land restoration may be connected to human development and related factors. Hence, there is a need to view socio-economic and institutional enablers of land restoration in a ‘systems’ or wholistic perspective (in addition to rigorous studies on the potential impact of each factor).
This paper attempts to outline such a systems approach. In order to do so, it draws on the `national innovation system’ that is used to understand the differences in the degree of innovation in different countries. Such a system of innovation consists of `the elements and relationships which interact in the production, diffusion, and use of new, and economically useful, knowledge … and are either located within or rooted inside the borders of a nation-state (Lundvall, 19921). Following this approach, this essay looks at the parts and relationships which interact in the efforts towards restoring land individually and in an aggregate manner.
Introduction
Nearly one-fourth of the earth’s land surface is subjected to one or the other kind of land degradation.2 It is estimated that land degradation leads to a loss of USD 2 trillion per year for countries. It also reduces the value of land and forests.
About 2 billion hectares of forest land offers very little economic value currently due to degradation.3 Land degradation leads to the loss of biodiversity and contributes to global warming. These losses are known to policymakers and hence, there is a global acceptance of the need to arrest the ongoing degradation of land. There are a number of global initiatives to restore land.4
According to the Global Land Outlook Report of UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) `land restoration is the process of avoiding, reducing, and reversing land degradation to recover the biodiversity and ecosystem services that sustain all life on Earth’.5 There are also actions by communities, governments, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to restore land cover. However, there is a need to accelerate these actions.
The objective of the G 20 Global Land Initiative is to prevent, halt and reverse land degradation and reduce degraded land by 50 percent by 2040.
READ further from the source above
Abstract
Different socio-economic factors and policies/institutions together may impact the effectiveness of efforts towards land restoration in different contexts/countries. The contribution of any one factor, say private property rights, may be different in different contexts depending on the presence (or absence) of other enabling factors. Even when laws which aim at land restoration are made, their impact may depend on their actual enforcement, which in turn, may depend on governance and pressure from citizens. The latter and the willingness of governments to invest in land restoration may be connected to human development and related factors. Hence, there is a need to view socio-economic and institutional enablers of land restoration in a ‘systems’ or wholistic perspective (in addition to rigorous studies on the potential impact of each factor).
This paper attempts to outline such a systems approach. In order to do so, it draws on the `national innovation system’ that is used to understand the differences in the degree of innovation in different countries. Such a system of innovation consists of `the elements and relationships which interact in the production, diffusion, and use of new, and economically useful, knowledge … and are either located within or rooted inside the borders of a nation-state (Lundvall, 19921). Following this approach, this essay looks at the parts and relationships which interact in the efforts towards restoring land individually and in an aggregate manner.
Introduction
Nearly one-fourth of the earth’s land surface is subjected to one or the other kind of land degradation.2 It is estimated that land degradation leads to a loss of USD 2 trillion per year for countries. It also reduces the value of land and forests.
About 2 billion hectares of forest land offers very little economic value currently due to degradation.3 Land degradation leads to the loss of biodiversity and contributes to global warming. These losses are known to policymakers and hence, there is a global acceptance of the need to arrest the ongoing degradation of land. There are a number of global initiatives to restore land.4
According to the Global Land Outlook Report of UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) `land restoration is the process of avoiding, reducing, and reversing land degradation to recover the biodiversity and ecosystem services that sustain all life on Earth’.5 There are also actions by communities, governments, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to restore land cover. However, there is a need to accelerate these actions.
The objective of the G 20 Global Land Initiative is to prevent, halt and reverse land degradation and reduce degraded land by 50 percent by 2040.
READ further from the source above
Keywords
land restoration
national action plans
innovations
land degradation
UNCCD implementation
land tenure
land rights
food security