Our food should not cost the earth

Land protection: Since 2016, Indonesia has embarked on a major programme of peatland rewetting and restoration involving hundreds of local communities and recently expanded the initiative to restore mangroves. – Agencies

INTENSIVE agriculture, deforestation, mining and pollution have degraded up to 40% of the planet’s land surface, threatening economies and the ability to grow enough food to feed billions more people in the future, a United Nations report says.Global Land Outlook 2, from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), outlines the stark realities of damage to landscapes, which is compounding the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Up to 40% of Earth’s land is degraded, which threatens roughly half of the global gross domestic product, or US$44 trillion (RM193.27 trillion), according to the UN report released on April 28.