Land-degradation neutral world is an aspirational goal, which was agreed at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012. To achieve this goal, land degradation should be avoided and for every hectare of degraded land a hectare of land should be restored preferably in the same ecosystem and landscape. A land-degradation neutral world is a prerequisite for assuring water, food and energy security, alleviating poverty and mitigating climate change.
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At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders recognized land degradation, desertification and drought as serious global challenges, impeding sustainable development globally and committed to “strive to achieve a land-degradation neutral world”. They also reaffirmed their resolve under the UNCCD to take coordinated action nationally, regionally and internationally, to monitor land degradation globally and further develop and implement scientifically based and socially inclusive indicators for monitoring and assessing the extent of desertification, land degradation and drought.