Summary for policymakers of the thematic assessment of land degradation and restoration
A new assessment sets out the best-available evidence for policymakers to make better-informed decisions to combat land degradation, drawing on more than 3,000 scientific, government, indigenous and local knowledge sources. According to a new report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (IPBES), the principle global driver of land degradation is the expansion and unsustainable management of agriculture, fuelled by unprecedented levels of consumption in an increasingly globalized economy. This causes significant loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, such as food security, water purification and the provision of energy.