DIRT
POOR
Why land degradation and drought matters, and what we are doing
A farmer carefully plants her crops, holding onto hope depsite the unforgiving climate.
As she works a dust storm blankets the landscape.
When the dust settles, the once promising crops have withered under the relentless heat.

Land degradation is the process that robs fertile land of its life. The phenomenon is tightly interwoven with the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. It contributes to the global environmental threats we face, and it is exacerbated by them.



Land degradation knows no borders. For varying reasons it’s occurring throughout the world in almost every climate and region. It has wide-ranging effects, from compromising food and water security to lower quality food, poor health and forced displacement.

This year’s Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is the global voice for restoring land and building drought resilience and has the ambitious goal to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land to health by 2030.

Here are five things you may not know about the ground beneath our feet and why UNDP is leading efforts to protect it.
FACT
1
Topsoil is Earths’ precious, nutrient-rich outermost layer. Generally, it is between five and eight centimetres deep but can be as deep as one metre. It’s a carbon sink, sequestering about 30 percent of the gasses emitted by fossil fuel burning.
In November 2021, Uzbekistan was engulfed by its worst dust storm since meteorological records began in 1871. UNDP works with the government in the Surkhandarya region, bordering Afghanistan, engaging Afghan refugees and host communities in support of the country's massive, one billion tree replanting effort, providing work for locals and refugees alike.
Photo: UNDP Uzbekistan
FACT
2
It can take up to 1,000 years to build 2.5 centimetres of topsoil. Yet degradation rates are steadily increasing, and 1.2 billion people are now exposed to degraded land.
Iraq’s Mesopotamian marshes, home for millennia to the Ma'dan, or ‘Marsh Arabs’, has been gravely affected by soaring temperatures and diminishing rainfall, intensifying droughts, water scarcity, and displacing marshland communities, who are now forced to search for water for themselves and their livestock. UNDP is working to protect their historical homeland by encouraging laws to protect endangered wildlife and communities.
Photo: UNDP Iraq
FACT
3
Each year the world loses 100 million hectares of fertile land – about twice the size of Greenland.
Land degradation is a growing threat in Mongolia, where 77 percent of land suffers from overgrazing, deforestation and climate change. This is placing immense pressure on herders. As a result, rural Mongolians are moving to cities in huge numbers. This has led to intensive urbanization and threats to traditional rural lifestyles. UNDP, with support from the Global Environment Facility and Green Climate Fund, is working with herders to promote sustainable water management, reforestation, and pasture management.
Photo: UNDP Mongolia
FACT
4
In the Sahel, desertification affects more than 40 million people and 2,168 square kilometres. It is a major factor in forced migration.
In the past 50 years, Lake Chad has shrunk from 25,000 to just 2,000 square kilometres, sparking a vast displacement crisis, compounded by conflict. UNDP focuses on improving the governance of Lake Chad and its shared water resources, preserving its ecosystems and promoting regional integration, peace, security and development. Since 2019, more than 435,000 internally displaced people have returned home because of UNDP support.
Photo: UNDP Nigeria
FACT
5
A quarter of all deserts are in Latin America. Deforestation, largely due to overuse of land for animal farming, plays a significant role.
UNDP recognizes that addressing land degradation in Latin America requires a multifaceted approach. Biodiversity loss is the key factor, due to unsustainable agricultural practices such as overgrazing, excessive use of agrochemicals and land clearing through deforestation and urban and industrial expansion. Climate change is also exacerbating the problem, increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts, hurricanes, and floods.

However, there are also opportunities for positive change.

An innovative partnership with the Italian coffee company Lavazza is producing the world’s first 'deforestation-free' coffee on land bordering the Ecuadorean Amazon rainforest. Launched in September 2024, it aligns with a European Union ruling mandating deforestation-free coffee production by the beginning of 2025.
Photo: UNDP
Healthy soil is life
It is responsible for producing 95 percent of our food. It is home to 25 percent of biodiversity and plays a crucial role in combatting climate change by sequestering carbon. It is the basis for increasing biodiversity, improving water retention, and flood prevention. Healthy soil increases crop yields and improves food security; every dollar invested can produce up to US$30 in benefits, including creating jobs and reducing poverty. It represents a significant opportunity to build a healthier, more just and more resilient future.

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