Kathmandu, April 29. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) issued a report titled “Global Land Outlook” on Wednesday.

According to the paper, anthropogenic activities have already damaged 20 to 40% of the total land surface on Earth, mostly through direct activities such as mining, deforestation, and urbanization.

“The current model of natural resource extraction and economic growth has come at a great cost to human and planetary health … The individuals and communities living and working on degraded land are most affected,” the report noted.

The majority of human-caused harm has been created by food production. This is because agriculture requires the conversion of natural lands into cultivable fields. The usage of pesticides and artificial fertilizers has a significant negative impact on the soil. Consumption of other goods such as clothes also makes a big contribution to the degradation of land.

Poverty, starvation, inequality, and pollution resulting from this destruction, making people more vulnerable to illness and natural catastrophes such as droughts, floods, and wildfires.

‘As a result, land restoration is the most critical and cost-effective strategy for reversing climate change and biodiversity loss,’ UNCCD urges people to come together to restore lands while shifting to more sustainable forms of production and consumption.

Click here to read the detailed report titled “Global Land Outlook – Second Edition” published by UNCCD on April 27, 2022.