Last week, the United Nations released a new report that highlights land use and degradation worldwide. The report found that as much as 40% of land is now classified as degraded. Most of the degradation is the result of the agricultural industry, which now occupies half of the world’s land (Reuters). If current trends continue, another 11% could be degraded as soon as 2050.

Degraded land makes farming harder, as soils have fewer nutrients and water resources are often depleted. As a result, as global population grows, the ability to feed everyone is at risk. Further, degradation can reduce the land’s ability to store carbon, exacerbating climate change (The Guardian). Most of the degradation can be seen in developing countries, and women in these countries are often especially impacted. However, overconsumption in developed countries is a primary driver of this degradation.

Restoring degraded land is imperative for human health and combating climate change, and countries have committed to restoring 10 million square kilometers by 2030. The U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification noted approximately $700 billion in "perverse subsidies" to the fossil fuel and agriculture industries annually, and that one-third of this amount could be used to restore one billion degraded hectares by 2030 (BBC). The report also notes that land conservation should be put “in the hands of indigenous and other local communities” (Reuters).