To sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.
Forests cover nearly 31 per cent of our planet’s land area. From the air we breathe, to the water we drink, to the food we eat–forests sustain us. Forests are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. However, biodiversity is declining faster than at any other time in human history.
Globally, one fifth of the Earth’s land area (more than 2 billion hectares) are degraded, an area nearly the size of India and the Russian Federation combined. Land degradation is undermining the well-being of some 3.2 billion people, driving species to extinction and intensifying climate change. Biodiversity and the ecosystem services it underpins can also be the basis for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies as they can deliver benefits that will increase the resilience of people to the impacts of climate change.
