GEO Land Degradation Neutrality LDN Initiative Antje Hecheltjen

GEO Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Initiative Antje Hecheltjen, Sasha Alexander Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Gmb. H Bonn, Germany United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Page 1

The loss of productive soil is a global problem Total area affected by declining soil productivity over the last 30 years (red) … globally (around 30%) …in sub-Saharan Africa 40% l Improvement l No significant change l Deterioration Over 10 million hectares of arable land worldwide are degraded every year - an area roughly 1/3 the size of Germany. 12% 26% of grazing land of arable land of woodland 17% of the world’s degraded land can be found in sub-Saharan Africa. Sources: Pimentel 1995, Nkonya et al. 2016, Le et al. 2014

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15. 3: “by 2030, combat desertification, and restore degraded land soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land-degradation neutral world” UNCCD (UN Convention to Combat Desertification) established SDG 15. 3/LDN as the central objective of the Convention 05. 11. 2020 Page 3

LDN means no net loss of healthy land • No net loss/neutrality implies that degradation processes cannot be stopped completely • BUT: ongoing degradation can be balanced by restoration of degraded land a net balance can be achieved 05. 11. 2020 Page 4

LDN can be achieved through the LDN response hierarchy Ø LDN is a concept 05. 11. 2020 Page 5

The role of EO in LDN: Monitoring and Reporting on SDG Indicator 15. 3. 1 Monitoring should be viewed as a vehicle for learning Page 6

Beyond monitoring: EO to support planning and decision making processes for LDN Preparatory Activities - Land potential and stratification - Land degradation assessment - Resilience assessment - Economic valuation (ELD, TEEB…) - … Interventions Integrated Land Use Planning - Anticipated losses and proposed gains (by land type) - … Monitoring Indicators and associated metrics of ecosystem services Source: Based on UNCCD/SPI scientific conceptual framework for LDN (2017), p. 66 Page 7

The GEO-LDN Initiative - GEO Land Degradation Neutrality Initiative (GEO-LDN) will help national and local actors in all countries use Earth observations to achieve LDN, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (target 15. 3). - GEO-LDN is a unique stakeholder-driven initiative with a clear policy mandate from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Page 8

The GEO-LDN Initiative 3 Sub-Working Groups: 1. Capacity Building: Help build national capacities while ensuring national ownership 2. Data Quality Standards: Assist with the further development of data quality standards and protocols for SDG indicator 15. 3. 1 and its sub-indicators 3. Data Analytics: Work to establish federated collaborative platforms with high computing capacities and big data analytics, such as open data cubes Page 9

Avoid duplication of efforts – Join forces! • Use synergies with other GEO Initiatives • GEO-LDN Steering Committte Meeting: Friday, 10 am-1 pm, room K You are welcome to participate! We are looking for dynamic partners to help advance the objectives of the Initiative. Are you interested in collaborating? • Join us on the steering committee or in one of the working groups; • Host capacity building events in your region or help finance the participation of end users; • Provide technical expertise, such as in the form of secondments; • Provide direct funding to the functional support unit. Page 10

Questions? Contact us! Contact: Neil Sims (Neil. Sims@csiro. au) Antje Hecheltjen (antje. hecheltjen@giz. de) Amos Kabobah (amos. kabobah@uenr. edu. gh) Sasha Alexander (salexander@unccd. int) Doug Cripe (dcripe@geosec. org) Page 11

Further reading and learning Online tutorials for UNCCD reporting: https: //www. youtube. com/playlist? list=PLYKt. FP 8 YQCl. Jc. Cwg. UD 31 xfg. DJOC_Hvh. C Conservation International: Trends. earth documentation and online videos: http: //trends. earth/docs/en/training/video_links. html UNCCD (2017): Good Practice Guideline - SDG Indicator 15. 3. 1. UNCCD/SPI (2017): SPI Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality - A Report of the Science-Policy Interface. UNCCD (2018): Reporting manual for the 2017 -2018 UNCCD reporting process. UNCCD (2018): Default data: methods and interpretation - guidance document for the 2018 UNCCD reporting. Page 12