26 March 2018, Medellin, Colobia — Approximately four billion people on Earth will be living in drylands in 2050 if the rate of land degradation at present continues. This is one of the key messages found in the Land Degradation and Restoration (LDR) Assessment report produced by IPBES.

The assessment report on land degradation and restoration by more than 100 leading experts from 45 countries was approved at the 6th session of the IPBES Plenary in Medellín, Colombia, and identified threats to land-based ecosystems based on evidences from around the world and provided a range of solutions to reduce the risks and impacts of land degradation. It aims to help decision makers make informed choices on how to halt and reverse land degradation, which at present negatively impacts the well-being of at least 3.2 billion people.

More information about the LDR Assessment Report: Press Release | Media Resources

Completed APN Projects related to land degradation and restoration assessment:

APN, composed of 22 member countries in the Asia-Pacific region, enables investigations of changes in the Earth’s life support systems and their implications for sustainable development in Asia-Pacific through support for research and capacity building activities.

APN has funded in the past the following projects on assessing land degradation and restoration:

• Monitoring grassland degradation in North/Central Asia: Deciphering the impacts of climate change and government policies at different spatial-temporal scales using remote sensing and expert knowledge
• Assessing Spatiotemporal Variability of NPP, NEP and Carbon Sinks of Global Grassland Ecosystem in Response to Climate Change in 1911-2011
• Tracing Nitrogen and Carbon Biogeochemical Processes in the Inter-tidal Mangrove Ecosystem (Sundarban) of India and Bangladesh: Implications of the Global Environmental Change
• Dryland Development Paradigm (DDP) Application for the Most Vulnerable to Climate and Land Use Change of Pastoral Systems in the Southern Khangai Mountains of Mongolia (DDPPaS)
• The Degraded Ecosystem Restoration in the Arid and Semi-arid Northern China-Mongolia Region