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Press release: Worsening worldwide land degradation now ‘critical’, undermining well-being of 3.2 billion people

An IPBES media release launching the now-approved land degradation and restoration assessment.

Worsening land degradation caused by human activities is undermining the well-being of two fifths of humanity, driving species extinctions and intensifying climate change. It is also a major contributor to mass human migration and increased conflict, according to the world’s first comprehensive evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration.

The dangers of land degradation, which cost the equivalent of about 10% of the world’s annual gross product in 2010 through the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, are detailed for policymakers, together with a catalogue of corrective options, in the three-year assessment report by more than 100 leading experts from 45 countries, launched today.

Please see here for the full press release on the IPBES land degradation and restoration assessment.