A Natural Fix: A joined-up approach to delivering the Global Goals for Sustainable Development

The sustainable management and restoration of our landscapes – achieving land degradation neutrality - will deliver many co-benefits. From biodiversity conservation and combating climate change to ensuring economic growth and human wellbeing. How we manage the land is closely linked to how many decent jobs we can create; to food and water security; migration and urbanization trends; real climate change mitigation and adaptation action; responsible consumption or resource conflict. In fact, healthy terrestrial ecosystems contribute significantly to the delivery of many SDG targets.1 While our working landscapes are often ignored, they are the clear foundation for real sustainability and for all of the SDG’s. This brochure shines a spotlight on some of the main synergies that can be exploited and the diverse benefits that would flow if we protect and restore “Life on Land”. We have identified just some of the global goals for sustainable development, where investing in healthy and productive landscapes would be a highly cost-effective intervention with the most immediate and tangible benefits, but delivering land degradation neutrality would be an accelerator of SDG implementation across the board.

KeywordsSustainable Development Goals (SDGs), land degradation neutrality