Land degradation neutrality is likely to become a global target through the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) led COP12 and the Sustainable Development Goals to be adopted later this year. Our new Issue Brief for Business on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) clarifies what the LDN target means for business and how each company can contribute.
Rome, 30 June 2015 – The Brief is released today at the Private Sector Investment in Forest and Landscape Restoration conference, organized by the UNCCD Global Mechanism, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Korea Forest Service in Rome. It aims to increase awareness and help businesses in understanding the principles of LDN. The Brief introduces pragmatic indicators supporting land restoration and rehabilitation solutions. It also outlines the origins of LDN and clarifies related terms.
Land degradation is a critical issue for all businesses. It can directly impact a company’s cost structure and profitability by affecting, for example, the availability and cost of its resources. It is relevant not only to businesses directly extracting or harvesting from land (i.e. agriculture, food or forestry), but also to those with indirect links to land via supply or value chains (i.e. chemicals, apparel, tourism, insurance and finance).
The UNCCD COP12 in Ankara is a remarkable opportunity to connect with policymakers on the issue of land degradation and to bring existing initiatives to scale. This Issue Brief will be key in helping businesses prepare their input to this critical process.
- Peter Bakker, President and CEO, WBCSD
The Issue Brief is the first publication related to our Restoring Degraded Land business solution, a private sector-led initiative that aims to mobilize business for the achievement of land degradation neutrality.