ELD: The economics of land policy, planning and practice

Abstract

Land is front and center of the sustainable development and climate change debates. A goal dedicated to Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) (see Box 1) was endorsed in 2015 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015–2030 framework, following on from the UN’s Millennium Development Goals of 2000 (UN General Assembly, 2015). SDG 15 aims to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”, with the specific target 15.3 to “combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world” by 2030 (UN General Assembly, 2015: 24).