Land degradation is an underrecognized threat to global well-being which will be aggravated by climate change. The poor are hurt most, because they depend largely on the land (agriculture, livestock, forests) for their livelihood. Estimating the cost of land degradation is difficult but it must amount to many billions of dollars globally per year, reducing agricultural GDP by several percentage points in many countries and reducing the well-being of millions of people by contributing to poverty, hunger, insufficient clean water, poorer health, insecurity and dislocation.
The drylands are most susceptible to degradation because the low rainfall slows the regeneration of vegetation (for example after removal by grazing animals, drought, farmers, firewood gathering, fires). Once exposed, the soil quickly washes away in rains or is blown away in windstorms. About 10-20 per cent of the world’s drylands are already degraded.