35
analysis of the SDGs therefore emphasizes the interrelationships between the SDGs
and their goals and is a relevant exercise for understanding the complexity of the
development model.
In the case of the interlinkage between areas of importance to drylands development, there is a special focus on SDG target 15.3 which states that: “By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation neutral
world.” As widely acknowledged, SDG target 15.3 sets out a new global ambition
never posed before: to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by the year 2030.
LDN has been defined by the Parties to the Convention as: “A state whereby the
amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and
services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified
temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems” (Decision 3/COP.12, UNCCD 2015).
The goal is maintaining or enhancing the conservation of natural capital stocks
associated with land resources and ecosystem services that come from them.
It is worth reminding that the concept of “zero net land degradation” was proposed at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). This was
reformulated as “strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world” in the final
outcome document, The Future We Want, and subsequently adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly as part of the sustainable development goals (SDGs),
specifically SDG target 15.3 (IGES 2017).
The objectives of LDN are defined as:
• Improve the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services;
• Maintain productivity to foster food security;
• Increase resilience of the land and populations;
• Establish synergies with other social, economic, and environmental SDGs
objectives;
• Promote responsible and inclusive land governance.
Thus far, more than 100 countries worldwide have begun to pursue LDN target
programs in different ways. LDN represents therefore a paradigm that may shift
land management policies and practices in favor of reducing loss of productive land
with recovery of degraded areas. However, the implementation of LDN requires
multi-stakeholder engagement and planning across scales and sectors, supported by
national-scale coordination that should work with and incorporate existing local and
regional governance structures (UNDP 2017).
Through LDN, SDG target 15.3 could better link sustainable livelihoods in the
context of SDG 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere); and Sustainable land
management policies and practices in the context of SDG 15, on Terrestrial
Ecosystems. Promoting SD in the drylands may also contribute to other SDGs, such
as:
SDG 2: Achieving food security
SDG 5: Gender equality and women empowerment
SDG 6: Sustainable water management
2 Sustainable Development Goals and Drylands: Addressing the Interconnection
analysis of the SDGs therefore emphasizes the interrelationships between the SDGs
and their goals and is a relevant exercise for understanding the complexity of the
development model.
In the case of the interlinkage between areas of importance to drylands development, there is a special focus on SDG target 15.3 which states that: “By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation neutral
world.” As widely acknowledged, SDG target 15.3 sets out a new global ambition
never posed before: to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by the year 2030.
LDN has been defined by the Parties to the Convention as: “A state whereby the
amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and
services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified
temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems” (Decision 3/COP.12, UNCCD 2015).
The goal is maintaining or enhancing the conservation of natural capital stocks
associated with land resources and ecosystem services that come from them.
It is worth reminding that the concept of “zero net land degradation” was proposed at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). This was
reformulated as “strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world” in the final
outcome document, The Future We Want, and subsequently adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly as part of the sustainable development goals (SDGs),
specifically SDG target 15.3 (IGES 2017).
The objectives of LDN are defined as:
• Improve the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services;
• Maintain productivity to foster food security;
• Increase resilience of the land and populations;
• Establish synergies with other social, economic, and environmental SDGs
objectives;
• Promote responsible and inclusive land governance.
Thus far, more than 100 countries worldwide have begun to pursue LDN target
programs in different ways. LDN represents therefore a paradigm that may shift
land management policies and practices in favor of reducing loss of productive land
with recovery of degraded areas. However, the implementation of LDN requires
multi-stakeholder engagement and planning across scales and sectors, supported by
national-scale coordination that should work with and incorporate existing local and
regional governance structures (UNDP 2017).
Through LDN, SDG target 15.3 could better link sustainable livelihoods in the
context of SDG 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere); and Sustainable land
management policies and practices in the context of SDG 15, on Terrestrial
Ecosystems. Promoting SD in the drylands may also contribute to other SDGs, such
as:
SDG 2: Achieving food security
SDG 5: Gender equality and women empowerment
SDG 6: Sustainable water management
2 Sustainable Development Goals and Drylands: Addressing the Interconnection