The United Nations has issued a stark warning regarding the escalating crisis of land degradation worldwide, highlighting a staggering annual funding shortfall of £200 billion needed to combat this looming threat. While an estimated £261 billion per year is necessary to address the issue, only £56 billion is currently being mobilised, raising concerns over food security, forced migration, and potential conflicts that could affect billions of lives.
The Scale of the Crisis
Yasmine Fouad, executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and former environment minister of Egypt, emphasised the urgent need for innovative financial solutions to bridge the vast funding gap. “Today, there is a massive gap between the finance available and the finance required,” Ms Fouad stated. “Closing that gap cannot rely solely on public budgets. We need the financial sector, development banks, insurance systems, and private capital to treat healthy land as foundational infrastructure for our economies and societies.”
According to the latest assessments from the UNCCD, approximately £261 billion is essential to tackle land degradation globally, yet only £77 billion is currently deployed each year. The majority of funding—around 72%—is generated by countries facing the most severe threats, while only 6% comes from private-sector investments. As international aid budgets dwindle, there is an urgent need to attract more private finance to mitigate this crisis.
Understanding Land Degradation and Desertification
Land degradation encompasses the loss of land quality and productivity through various processes such as soil erosion, deforestation, and overgrazing. Desertification, as defined by the UNCCD, refers specifically to persistent land degradation in dry areas, leading to diminished productivity and the spread of desert-like conditions. This phenomenon poses a significant threat to agriculture, livestock, and food security.
Ms Fouad warned that the consequences of inaction extend far beyond environmental degradation. “Land degradation and drought contribute to food insecurity, supply chain disruptions, forced migration, rising inequality, and instability in vulnerable regions,” she explained. “In a deeply interconnected world, no country is insulated from these impacts. Investing in land restoration is not merely charity; it is a preventive measure for resilience, stability, and shared prosperity.”
Global Response and Collaborative Efforts
Recent data from the UNCCD reveals a worrying trend: 15.4% of land globally was classified as degraded in 2019, an increase of 4% since 2015. This translates to at least 100 million hectares of once fertile land being compromised annually, affecting the livelihoods of approximately 1.3 billion people. The economic impact is also staggering, with desertification and land degradation costing affected nations about 2% of their GDP, equating to around $878 billion each year.
The urgency of addressing these issues has been echoed by environment ministers from the G7, who have labelled desertification and drought as “systemic global challenges” and “security risk multipliers.” However, Ms Fouad remains hopeful, pointing to numerous solutions available if sufficient funding can be secured. “We are supporting watershed management projects in Ethiopia and Kenya, as well as initiatives in the Nile Delta that encourage farmers to cultivate crops resilient to increasingly saline soils,” she noted.
Significantly, the Great Green Wall initiative aims to combat desertification in the Sahel region of Africa by planting 100 million hectares of trees by 2030. Moreover, 74 low- to middle-income countries vulnerable to drought have submitted management plans to the UNCCD, which now need funding to be effectively implemented.
Looking Ahead: The Role of International Conferences
In August, the UNCCD will convene a “Conference of Parties” (Cop) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where funding strategies for desertification will be a central topic of discussion. While scepticism surrounds the efficacy of such conferences in resolving global issues like climate change, Ms Fouad views them as crucial for fostering collaboration between nations in the global North and South. “Cops are more critical than ever,” she asserted. “They are essential for building consensus needed to address various global environmental challenges.”
Why it Matters
The implications of land degradation extend far beyond environmental concerns; they threaten food security, economic stability, and social cohesion globally. With millions at risk of displacement and increasing conflicts over diminishing resources, the call for urgent action and investment is not just a matter of environmental preservation—it is a matter of human survival and dignity. The world must respond decisively to this crisis, as the consequences of inaction will reverberate across borders and generations.