FAO: Promoting sustainable land management practices is
critical to improve people’s livelihoods

FAO Celebrates World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2020 

The Representation
of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the
Islamic Republic of Iran commemorates World Day to Combat Desertification and
Drought 2020, highlighting the importance of promoting sustainable production
and consumption.  

During an event
hosted today Tuesday 16 June 2020 by the Forests, Rangelands and Watershed
Management Organization, Mr Ali Shahnian, FAO-Iran Project Operation Officer
delivered a statement on behalf of Mr Gerold Bödeker, FAO Representative to the
Islamic Republic of Iran.

In his statement,
Mr Bödeker, emphasised that preventing land degradation in arid, semi-arid and
dry sub-humid areas is an achievable target that can be realised through
collective problem-solving, strong community involvement and cooperation at all
levels.

He underscored that
changing consumer and corporate behaviour, and adopting more efficient land use
planning and more sustainable land management practices, will provide us with
enough land to meet the demand for essentials and for a wider array of goods
and services.

“We have no choice
but to manage and utilise our resources much better. We need to enhance
productivity and efficiency along the entire value chain,” highlighted Mr
Bödeker.

“FAO is fully
committed to supporting the implementation of the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification in order to increase resilience to climate change and
drought through the promotion of sustainable land management practices as a
means to improve people’s livelihoods,” noted FAO Representative in his
concluding remarks.

The full text of the statement of Mr Gerold Bödeker, the FAO
Representative to the Islamic Republic of Iran on the occasion of World Day to
Combat Desertification and Drought 2020 reads:

Your Excellency,
the Minister of Agriculture Jahad, Mr Khavazi,

Excellences,

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Every year, on 17
June, the global community celebrates the World Day to Combat Desertification
and Drought to promote public awareness on international efforts dedicated to
this cause.

This day is a
unique moment to remind everyone that preventing land degradation in arid,
semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas – which is a well-recognised definition of
desertification – is an achievable target that can be realised through
collective problem-solving, strong community involvement and cooperation at all
levels.

Desertification
should be viewed as a breakdown of the fragile balance that allowed plant,
human and animal life to develop harmoniously on the lands. This breakdown of
the equilibrium represents the beginning of a self-destruction process for all
elements of the life system on the planet.

Soil vulnerability
to wind and water erosion, the lowering of the water table, the impairment of
the natural regeneration of vegetation, and the chemical degeneration of soils
are among the most immediate results of desertification.

Evidence also shows
that desertification has a serious effect on the vulnerable populations in
developing countries. By limiting the potential of natural resources,
desertification reduces agricultural production and makes it increasingly
precarious.

Overexploitation of
the most readily available natural resources, selling off the agricultural
production equipment and increasing rural migration to urban areas in search of
better living conditions are among the most common strategies taken by affected
populations for survival in the face of desertification.

Besides, as the
number of human population growths across the globe, more people settle in
urban areas and the average amount of human consumption escalates, the demand
for arable lands to provide human food, animal feed and clothing fibre
increases, while at the same time the health and productivity of existing lands
not only declines due to the immediate human-induced practices but also
deteriorates by the long-term effects of climate change.

UN predicts that by
2050, the world will have over 9.8 billion inhabitants which implies
significantly more food, water and other resources will be required to supply
the world population with enough food, feed and fibre.

All these
predictions mean that in just 30 years, we will need an extra 593 million
hectares of agricultural land to produce an additional 74,000 trillion calories
required to supply the world population’s energy intake, an increase equivalent
to a 56% rise in crop calories.

Considering these
projected demands, we should also pay attention to an unfortunate fact that
currently, around one-third of all food produced each year across the world is
lost or wasted. This is equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes of food with a
footprint of 1.4 billion hectares, close to 30% of the world’s agricultural
land areas.

The land surfaces
presently used for grazing and grain production to feed animals accounts for
80% of agricultural land globally [7]. Moreover, recent estimations also reveal
that by 2030, the fashion industry will use 35% more land – meaning over 115
million hectares.

Food, feed and
fibre must also compete with expanding cities and the fuel industry, which are
also gobbling up land at rapid rates. The end result is that land is being converted
and degraded at unsustainable rates.

All of these
highlights that we have no choice but to manage and utilise our resources much
better. We need to enhance productivity and efficiency along the entire value
chain.

With changes in
consumer and corporate behaviour, and the adoption of more efficient land use
planning and more sustainable land management practices, we will have enough
land to meet the demand for essentials and for a wider array of goods and
services.

FAO, as the lead UN
agency in promoting resilient agricultural development, concentrates on
solutions that we can find in nature to tackle complex challenges and supply
our needs in a sustainable way. This is especially important in a moment where
the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic disruption threaten food security,
nutrition, health and the livelihoods of millions of people, exposing the
fragilities of our ecosystems and food systems.

FAO along with
other UN entities engaged in advocating “United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD)” are fully committed to supporting the implementation
of the UNCCD in order to increase resilience to climate change and drought
through the promotion of sustainable land management practices as a means to
improve people’s livelihoods.

Source of News : http://www.fao.org/iran/news/en/