ELD: The economics of land policy, planning and practice

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).