Credits: Fair Trade Lebanon
Between 2015 and 2019, 100 million hectares of healthy, productive land were degraded. This loss, equivalent to twice the size of Greenland, affected the lives of 1.3 billion people (UNCCD).
When land is degraded or affected by drought, it loses the ability to sustain plant and animal life, including crops and livestock, and to perform its essential ecosystem functions. Land and water are fundamental to food systems, serving as the primary resources for producing food through agriculture and livestock farming. Therefore, land degradation directly affects production activities and, consequently, food systems.
Agroecology is a powerful lever for solving major challenges that the current agricultural and food systems face such as vulnerability to climate change, erosion of biodiversity, land degradation, loss of soil-carbon, environmental pollution and water scarcity, among others.
We will be taking part in COP 16, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2-13 December) with a delegation from the Secretariat, member organizations and countries. Through our side events and interventions, we will be advocating for the transformation of food systems through agroecology in relation to desertification.
We have co-organized side events teaming up with several organizations and will participate as discussant in other events.
Consult our Guide to COP 16 to find out more about our mission, events and resources!