Land degradation affects a considerable amount of agricultural area around the world, with nearly 2 billion ha estimated to be seriously degraded, in some cases, irreversibly so. Critically, land degradation reduces productivity and food security, disrupts vital ecosystem functions, negatively affects biodiversity and water resources, and increases carbon emissions and vulnerability to climate change.

Despite this, there is limited documentation and evidence of the range of benefits generated by sustainable land management (SLM) practices across farming systems, which are ultimately necessary for convincing decision makers to invest in these measures.

Using a collaborative approach involving FAO, the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) and selected partners in the 15 participating countries (Argentina, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Lesotho, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan), this GEF funded project focused on better understanding land degradation status, drivers and threats, and creating decision support tools for combatting desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) and promoting SLM.