– As delivered –
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly
14 June 2021
Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
I am delighted to welcome you to this High-level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought, the first high-level meeting of the General Assembly on this topic since 2011.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the cost of ignoring the interlinkages between our natural world. At the UN’s first Summit on Biodiversity, which I convened last September, the link between land degradation, ecosystem destruction and the emergence of zoonotic diseases – when viruses jump between species – was made crystal clear.
Our planet is facing an environmental crisis that encompasses every aspect of the natural world: land, climate, and biodiversity, and pollution on land and at sea. Our existence and ability thrive in this world is entirely dependent upon how we reset and rebuild our relationship with the natural world, including the health of our land.
Today, half of all agricultural land is degraded – and unable to sustain any form of life – threatening the livelihoods and security of over three billion people. The loss of healthy land is driving extinction and intensifying climate change, as healthy land is the world’s greatest carbon sink.
Without a change in course, this will only get worse. By 2050, global crop yields are estimated to fall by 10%, with some suffering up to a 50% reduction. This will lead to a sharp 30% rise in world food prices, threatening progress on hunger and nutrition, as well as a myriad of associated development goals.
Over half of global GDP relies on land resources. If more arable land is lost, millions of farmers risk being plunged into poverty, potentially displacing 135 million people by 2045, and increasing the risk of instability and tension.
Healthy land is the world’s most effective water filter. But today, land degradation, and resultant droughts and climate change, are intensifying the incidence of wildfires. From 2018-2020 alone, wildfires have devastated roughly 30 million acres of land in the global north and south.
Restoring nature is the test of our generation and indeed of this multilateral institution. This is the challenge the UN was born to meet. If we upscale land action today we can safeguard global food and water security, reduce emissions, conserve biodiversity and guard against future systemic health and environmental risks. Put simply, soil is the solution.
Excellencies, dear colleagues,
The crises of land, climate, biodiversity and pollution are inextricably linked. I am convening this dialogue today to galvanize international cooperation to avert further degradation and to revive degraded land. We must unite today to elevate the importance of land issues and build momentum ahead of the three upcoming cop-level summits on land, biodiversity and climate.
Only the UN has the world-wide capacities to address holistically the pressing global issue of land restoration. And the UN has been quite clear about the treatment needed:
First, countries should adopt and implement Land Degradation Neutrality targets, which revive land through sustainable land and water management strategies, and restore biodiversity and ecosystem functions. So far, 125 Member States have adopted such strategies. I call on all Member States to do so and to be ambitious; targets can always be improved upon.
Second, we must apply the lessons learned during the Decade to Fight Desertification as we move into the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Land restoration must be at the heart of existing international processes, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions to combat climate change, the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and COVID-19 recovery and stimulus plans.
Third, we must urgently address unsustainable agriculture, one of the main drivers of desertification, land degradation and drought. I call on Member States to conduct National Dialogues on agricultural reform ahead of the Food Systems Summit this September. Ensuring food security for 9.7 billion people by 2050, while meeting the other goals of the Paris Agreement, will be possible only if we scale up land restoration and regeneration to transform our food systems.
Fourth, with the SDGs as our roadmap, we must forge greater synergy between peace, development and humanitarian actions. In this context, I encourage cooperation by all stakeholders across humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts. This can be achieved through universal implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which will enhance preventative work to better protect our world from future systemic shocks.
Fifth, we need to redirect our spending priorities. Currently, forests and agriculture receive less than 3% of climate finance but hold more than 30% of the solution to the climate crisis. For an estimated USD 2.7 trillion per year – comfortably within the scope of the proposed COVID spending – we could transform the world’s economies by restoring natural ecosystems, rewarding agriculture that keeps soils healthy, and incentivizing business models that prioritize renewable, recyclable or biodegradable products and services. Within a decade, the global economy could create 395 million new jobs and generate over USD 10 trillion.
And finally, we must strengthen the tenure rights and financial and technical capabilities of agricultural workers. A third of all workers – over 1 billion people, work in the agricultural sector. However, most do not have rights over the land they toil – currently more than 70% of the world’s farmland is controlled by 1% of farms, primarily large agribusinesses. Investing directly in land workers is an investment in our land and our planet’s future. When we enable workers to invest in their land, we support agricultural productivity. Environmental stewardship, wealth generation, civic participation, and the rule of law benefit, especially indigenous and small-scale producers, including female farmers.
Excellencies,
To demonstrate the necessity of soil to our survival, I have given every representative in the General Assembly Hall a basil plant and ask you to share updates on their growth in line with key international milestones for environmental action.
Restoring nature is the test of our generation and indeed of this multilateral institution. This is the challenge the UN was born to meet. If we upscale land action today we can safeguard global food and water security, reduce emissions, conserve biodiversity and guard against future systemic health and environmental risks. Put simply, soil is the solution.
I thank you.
