The Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought

Executive Secretary  UNCCD 

Luc Gnacadja. 

9 - 12 April 2013. Bonn, Germany. The international community is losing vast amounts of agricultural production due to the effects of continuing land degradation such as desertification, a new United Nations study has warned, adding that without sustainable land management, development initiatives the world over will be stymied.

Presented at the opening session of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) 2nd Scientific Conference, The Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (UNCCD, 2013, 56 pages) paints a dire picture of the planet’s current state, noting that up to five per cent of global agricultural gross domestic production (GDP) is being lost due to deteriorating land quality.

“Business as usual is no longer an option,” UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja told the opening session of the conference.

The report – the first economic evaluation of its kind in over twenty years – shows that up to 12 per cent of Africa’s agricultural GDP is being lost due to environmental degradation. The Background Document is also available in: English |French |Spanish|Arabic |Russian |Chinese