Goal : Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Through human activities such as deforestation and land degradation, humans have caused substantial damage to the planet’s ecosystem and the preservation of biodiversity.
According to the United Nations, forest areas continue to decline with approximately 10 million hectares destroyed yearly. Similarly, over two billion hectares of land on earth is degraded, affecting 3.2 billion people. As a result, due to the unsustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and management of forests, climate change has intensified and over 31,000 species have been driven into extinction.
This demonstrates the insufficient efforts made in regards to halting biodiversity loss and reversing land degradation, which in turn is negatively affecting human well being and survival.
The twelve targets to create action to protect and restore life on land by 2030, are as follows:
Conserve and restore terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems
End deforestation and restore degraded forests
End desertification and restore degraded land
Ensure conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity
Protect biodiversity and natural habitats
Promote access to genetic resources and fair sharing of the benefits
Eliminate poaching and trafficking of protected species
Prevent invasive alien species on land and in water ecosystems
Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity in governmental planning
Increase financial resources to conserve and sustainably use ecosystem and biodiversity
Finance and incentivize sustainable forest management
Combat global poaching and trafficking