Africa: Land Degradation Is Costing Far More Than Restoring - UN Deputy Chief

What the report says

At a UN land conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed urged governments to step up action on degraded land and drought, arguing that the price of inaction is far higher than the cost of restoration. The remarks, reported by UN News and distributed by AllAfrica, were delivered at the opening of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s COP17 meeting. Mohammed said countries need to move from drafting plans to financing and implementing them.

The article says up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded, while droughts have become more frequent and longer-lasting since 2000. It also notes that more than 70 countries have developed national drought plans with UNCCD support, but many lack the funding to carry them out. Mohammed warned that current investment levels are well below what is needed for restoration and that the economic losses from doing nothing are much larger than the cost of acting.

She also linked land restoration to food security, livelihoods and public finances, saying healthy soils and watersheds function like critical infrastructure. The report highlights proposals such as reforming subsidies, expanding drought insurance, using green bonds and other financing tools, and involving multilateral development banks to attract more private capital. As a practical example, it points to Africa’s Great Green Wall, which has helped restore millions of hectares and is described as a broader African-led effort connecting restoration with jobs, food production and peace.