The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative is a global initiative which aims to increase awareness of the benefits of sustainable land management and economic consequences of land degradation.[1]

The ELD Initiative was co-founded in 2011 by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Commission (EC) and is hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.[2] The ELD Secretariat is based in Bonn, Germany.[3]

The ELD Initiative is focused on developing globally relevant data and methodology on the economic benefits of land and land based ecosystems for decision-makers. This way, the Initiative highlights the benefits of adopting sustainable land management practices and seeks to establish a global approach to conducting economic analyses of land management.[4] Moreover, the ELD Initiative provides a platform for discussion between stakeholders from the policy, science and private sectors, as well as a Knowledge Hub providing a database of educational materials, related knowledge and access to a broad range of scientific and policy publications.[5]

Background

Land degradation

Land degradation and desertification threaten people’s livelihood on a global scale. Every year, 20 million hectares of fertile land become degraded and within the last 40 years, around one third of the total agricultural land on earth has become unproductive through degradation processes.[6] Less developed countries are more vulnerable to desertification and land degradation, as they lack the infrastructure and capital to deal with this threat and implement long-term sustainable land management.[7] Soil on degraded land is less resilient and crops grown on degraded soil produce lower yields. Land degradation also negatively influences global food security: in the next 25 years, global food production might drop by up to 12%.[8] This will lead to an increase in average food prices of up to 30%.[9] Estimates show that the annual costs of land degradation are up to €3.4 trillion.[10] Paired with the growing world population and an increasing demand for alternative land management products such as biofuels land degradation causes poverty, food insecurity, reduced availability of clean water, and increased vulnerability towards climate change and extreme weather conditions.[7]

Land is covered by different ecosystems, which can be valued to include all the services they provide to society: supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural services. These ecosystem services were estimated in 2011 to have a global worth of USD 125 trillion/yr. This shows a decrease of USD 20.2 trillion/yr since 1997, caused by land use and management changes .[6] Sustainable land management practices are not usually costly to take up, and could deliver up to USD 1.4 trillion, merely in crop production, if adopted .[7] Archived 2020-01-10 at the Wayback Machine

Economic valuation of land degradation

Economics of land degradation look at the true costs of degrading land and land-based ecosystems as well as the benefits that derive from sustainable management of land and land-based ecosystems. The ELD Initiative provides ground-truthed tools and assessments that allow other parties to undertake cost-benefit analyses of land and land use through total economic valuation.[11] This approach helps to shine a light on the hidden values of land that are very often not considered when taking decisions about its management (e.g., nutrient cycling, water retention, storm protection).

The ELD Initiative also recognises that some aspects of land are invaluable in that the very existence of humanity depends on the land and thus has infinite value. Nevertheless, economic information is used by decision makers for land use, land use change and management.[12] Fully informed economic valuations are a central component of these decision-making processes, especially as economics provide a common language for different stakeholders to discuss their needs, costs, and gains, and come to optimal, mutually beneficial sustainable land management strategies.[13]

Structure

Formation

In 2010, a scientific foundation was created to promote the issues of sustainable land management and food security on a scientifically sound basis and increase public awareness for the importance of productive soils.[14]

The Initiative is guided by a Steering Group consisting of  the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission, and the permanent Secretariat to the UNCCD, and coordinated by the ELD Secretariat. The Initiative produces reports for decision makers and practitioners, case studies, policy briefs and education materials. These outputs are distributed to and applied by its policy, private sector and scientific partners. The ELD Secretariat is responsible for the coordination of processes within the Initiative and serves as the first contact point for all existing and potential partners.[15]

ELD Ambassadors

The Initiative is also represented by ELD Ambassadors, who play a crucial role in the coordination of ELD activities on the national level and represent the Initiative in their respective countries. In their function as ambassadors, they help:

Partners

The ELD Initiative has a global network of partners including CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems, United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Stockholm Environment Institute, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), UNDP, UNEP, Australian National University, University of Leeds, AMURE, ICARDA, Global Mechanism and IUCN.[17]

ELD Initiative further focuses on collaborating with the Private Sector as one of the main drivers for land degradation processes,[9]to help businesses identify eco-investment opportunities and incentives linked to the preservation and sustainable management of soils.[2]

Outputs

Publications

The ELD Initiative has an database of publications targeted at a variety of stakeholders. These include the 'Scientific Interim Report’, which details the general approach and methods considered by the Initiative and the 'Business Brief' outlines a methodology for risk assessment. In 2015, ELD published reports tailored for policymakers and the private sector.[18]

In September 2015, ELD produced a ‘main’ report, The Value of Land. This publication details the monetary worth of land, the steps and methods that can be used to effectively conduct economic assessments of land values, and actions for the successful management and use thereof. Additionally, it provides global scenarios with information on important ecosystems and the potential future impacts based on the various possible economic conditions governing its management. The significance of stakeholder engagement is outlined with country-level examples. The report was launched at the 70th United Nations General Assembly in Brussels. [19]

Capacity building courses

The ELD Initiative further offers Capacity building activities for decision-makers through MOOCs, trainings and national level learning and teaching materials to engage researchers and current and future decision-makers.[20]

ELD Campus

In 2019, the ELD Initiative launched the ELD Campus, which offers a learning and teaching toolkit for the valuation of ecosystem services. It can be used at different levels – from policymakers and researchers, to students and aspiring ELD practitioners – in all fields of scientific background.

The campus provides a comprehensive education toolkit to gain:

Activities

The ELD Initiative is focused on stakeholder dialogues, capacity building and technical expertise and development of solutions. Specifically, the Initiative works in the following five activity areas:

Current activities - Regreening Africa Project

The Regreening Africa Project, co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) and carried out jointly by the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative and ICRAF started in 2017. It aims to improve livelihoods, food security and climate change resilience by restoring ecosystem services. The project target countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Somalia.

The ELD Initiative led the first phase of the project from 2017 - 2020 by conducting case study cost-benefit analyses in each target country. These case studies are aimed at raising awareness of the threats and opportunities of different land use options, and extending the capacity of national experts to assess the economic benefits of investments in sustainable land management in consideration of the costs of land degradation. Based on these assessments, decision-makers and administrators will have access to scientific information on the economic consequences of land degradation and optional pathways to rural growth.

The results of the Initiative's work facilitate the initiation of policy dialogues, aiming to create additional awareness for the issue of land degradation and raising additional investments into sustainable land management measures, notably into Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).

The project is financed by the European Commission and co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is carried out jointly by the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative and ICRAF.[22]

Publications

ELD reports

Case studies

Policy briefs

References

  1. ^ "ELD". ELD Initiative. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  2. ^ a b giz. "Mainstreaming sustainable land management at international level". www.giz.de. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  3. ^ "ELD Team". ELD Initiative. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  4. ^ "Economics of Land Degradation | Knowledge Hub". knowledge.unccd.int. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  5. ^ "ELD Publications". ELD Initiative. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  6. ^ "BMZ on the German Engagement within the UNCCD" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  7. ^ a b ELD Scientific Interim Report
  8. ^ "Chapter 6 : Interlinkages between desertification, land degradation, food security and GHG fluxes: synergies, trade-offs and integrated response options — Special Report on Climate Change and Land". Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  9. ^ "Global Facts and Figures on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought by UNCCD" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  10. ^ TEEB Interim Report in ELD Business Brief
  11. ^ Mythili, Gurumurthy; Goedecke, Jann (2016), Nkonya, Ephraim; Mirzabaev, Alisher; von Braun, Joachim (eds.), "Economics of Land Degradation in India", Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement – A Global Assessment for Sustainable Development, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 431–469, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-19168-3_15, ISBN 978-3-319-19168-3
  12. ^ de Ville de Goyet, Claude; Marti, Ricardo Zapata; Osorio, Claudio (2006), Jamison, Dean T.; Breman, Joel G.; Measham, Anthony R.; Alleyne, George (eds.), "Natural Disaster Mitigation and Relief", Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (2nd ed.), Washington (DC): World Bank, ISBN 978-0-8213-6179-5, PMID 21250364, retrieved 2021-01-09
  13. ^ "WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT". www.ciesin.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  14. ^ Gomiero, Tiziano (March 2016). "Soil Degradation, Land Scarcity and Food Security: Reviewing a Complex Challenge". Sustainability. 8 (3): 281. doi:10.3390/su8030281.
  15. ^ "United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Global Land Outlook. First Edition". Issuu. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  16. ^ "ELD Ambassadors". ELD Initiative. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  17. ^ "Stockholm Environment Institute - United Nations Partnerships for SDGs platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  18. ^ "Chapter 7 : Risk management and decision making in relation to sustainable development — Special Report on Climate Change and Land". Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  19. ^ "Forest Valuation For Decision Making - Lessons of experience and proposals for improvement". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  20. ^ "Activities". ELD Initiative. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  21. ^ "ELD Campus". ELD Initiative. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  22. ^ a b "Regreening Africa". ELD Initiative. Retrieved 2021-01-09.

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