The world needs to urgently change the way food is grown and land is used in order to avoid irreparable harm to global food production capacity, according to a major new scientific report released Sunday.
Currently seven out of nine ‘planetary boundaries’ have been negatively impacted by unsustainable land use, mostly related to unsustainable agriculture, warns the report produced by the German-based Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) along with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Approximately 15 million km² of land area, or 10% of the world’s terrestrial space, is already severely degraded, as measured by the extent of deforestation, diminished food production capacity, and the disappearance of freshwater resources. This degraded land area is expanding each year by about 1 million km², according to the report.
“We stand at a precipice and must decide whether to step back and take transformative action, or continue on a path of irreversible environmental change,” said Johan Rockström, Director at PIK who is also the lead author of the report.
Shifting food production to “regenerative agriculture” practices as well as land restoration to improve the health of lakes, rivers and underground aquifers are among the immediate solutions needed to make a course correction.
Without rapid adoption of such measures, the Earth’s capacity to support human life and wellbeing could be irretrievably harmed, the report warns. This harm can be in the form of the collapse of the Arctic ice sheets and the weakening of the land’s ability to act as a carbon sink.
Failure to reverse land degradation trends that result in deforestation and impoverished soils will also have long-term, knock-on impacts concerning hunger, migration, and conflict, the report warns.
“If we fail to acknowledge the pivotal role of land and take appropriate action, the consequences will ripple through every aspect of life and extend well into the future, intensifying difficulties for future generations,” said Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.
The land is under threat from human activities, climate change
The concept of planetary boundaries is anchored in nine critical thresholds essential for maintaining Earth’s stability. Rockström was the lead author of the study that introduced the concept of planetary boundaries in 2009.
How humanity uses or abuses land directly impacts seven of these planetary boundaries, which include: climate change, species loss and ecosystem viability, freshwater systems, and the circulation of naturally occurring nitrogen and phosphorus, the report said. Land use changes, such as deforestation, also broach a planetary boundary.
“The aim of the planetary boundaries framework is to provide a measure for achieving human wellbeing within Earth’s ecological limits,” said Johan Rockström, lead author of the report.
Currently, the only boundary that is within its “safe operating space” is the stratospheric ozone as that was addressed through a 1989 treaty called the Montreal Protocol that sought to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere. This also is an example of how taking action can have a positive long-term impact.
Along with unsustainable agricultural practices and the conversion of natural ecosystems to monocultures of cultivation, deforestation and urbanisation, all are putting these planetary limits under pressure. Agriculture alone accounts for 23% of greenhouse gas emissions, 80% of deforestation and 70% of freshwater use.
In addition, challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss are worsening land degradation creating a vicious cycle, according to the report.
What governments must do
The report urges the use of ‘regenerative agriculture’ that focuses on improving soil health, carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement.
Agroecology that emphasizes holistic land management, including the integration of forestry, crops and livestock management, is another solution.
In addition, woodland regeneration, no-till farming that causes less disturbance to soil, improved grazing, water conservation, efficient irrigation and the use of organic fertilisers, are some of the other solutions that have been highlighted.
For water conservation the report urges reforestation, floodplain restoration, forest conservation and recharging aquifers, along with improving the delivery of chemical fertilizers – the majority of which currently runs off into freshwater bodies.
Transformative actions can halt land degradation
Numerous multilateral agreements on land-system change exist but have largely failed to deliver. The Glasgow Declaration to halt deforestation and land degradation by 2030 for instance was signed by 145 countries at the Glasgow climate summit in 2021, but deforestation has increased since then.
Keeping forest cover above 75% keeps the planet within safe bounds for instance, but forest cover has already been reduced to only 60% of its original area, according to the most recent update of the planetary boundaries framework by Katherine Richardson and colleagues.
The authors of the report added that the principles of fairness and justice are key when designing and implementing transformative actions to stop land degradation so that the benefits and burdens are equitably distributed.
They also said that action must be supported by an enabling environment, substantial investments, and a closer collaboration between science and policy.
This report was launched ahead of the UNCCD summit that is being called COP16 this year and is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Following a disappointing COP29 in Baku, there is concern that actions are falling short in the face of the climate crisis.
