Food security & agriculture

Humanity needs productive land to feed a world population fast approaching eight billion people. Our goal of land degradation neutrality can give food security, income, and hope for a better future to the most vulnerable. ​

Across the world, up to two billion people currently live under severe food insecurity and do not have regular access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food. The latest science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lays bare the widespread degradation of formerly productive land. ​The world is not on track to achieve the UN’s second Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. If recent trends continue, some 10 percent of the global population will be hungry in 2030. ​

The UNCCD’s goal is a future that avoids, reduces, and reverses desertification to achieve a land degradation neutral world consistent with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ​Globally, industrial  farming and increased demand for animal products have significantly altered many natural landscapes, notably as agriculture expands to supply animal feed crops. This drives deforestation in tropical regions, and desertification and land degradation in drylands. ​

The UNCCD works with scientists and governments to monitor these land changes worldwide. We spearhead efforts to slow land degradation and make land productive again through the use of sustainable land management practices. ​

Globally, about 1 billion hectares of degraded land will be restored by 2030. About 250 million hectares of this restoration will be farmland pledged for restoration under the UNCCD’s land degradation neutrality commitments. ​Restoring farmland to increase crop yields could halt the conversion of forests and grasslands into farmland and reverse biodiversity loss. ​

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