“The report sends a clear message: Land degradation is not just an environmental issue: it affects agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods and food security.”said the UN agency.
Human activity drives degradation
Land is the core of agri-food systems, supporting more than 95 percent of food production, as well as providing essential ecosystem services that support life on the planet.
Land degradation is usually the result of a combination of factors, FAO explained, including natural factors such as soil erosion and salinization.
However, human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable irrigation practices are now among the main contributors.
Measuring the impact
To measure degradation, the report compared current values of three key indicators (soil organic carbon, soil erosion and soil water) with conditions that would exist without human activity in native or natural states.
The data was processed through a machine learning model that integrates environmental and socioeconomic drivers of change to estimate the initial condition of the land in the absence of human activity.
The report estimates that around 1.7 billion people worldwide live in areas where crop yields are 10 percent lower due to human-caused land degradation. These include 47 million children under five years of age who are stunted.
“In absolute numbers, Asian countries are the most affected, both due to their accumulated degradation debt and their high population density.”said the FAO.
Millions could benefit
The report outlines viable opportunities for integrated sustainable land use and management practices, along with adapted policies.
Reversing just 10 percent of human-induced degradation on existing cropland through crop rotations or other sustainable land management practices could produce enough to feed 154 million more people a year.
“To take advantage of these opportunities, we must act decisively. Sustainable land management requires enabling environments that support investment, innovation and long-term management,” FAO Director-General Dongyu Qu wrote in the report’s foreword.