The report "Stepping back from the precipice: Transforming land management to stay within planetary boundaries", prepared by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in collaboration with UNCCD, highlights the critical importance of land for Earth system processes, economic development, and human wellbeing. However, human activities such as unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation and urbanization are driving land degradation and intensifying environmental challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss, risking irreversible damage. Land plays a central role in the planetary boundaries framework, being integral to seven of the nine boundaries essential for humanity’s safe operating space. The report emphasizes the urgency to transform land management to stay within these boundaries, as current land-use patterns have already breached all but one of the land-based boundaries, jeopardizing both environmental stability and socioeconomic resilience. Specifically, the report advocates for actions, such as sustainable land management practices, equitable land tenure rights, and significant investments in evidence-based approaches. These efforts can help prevent and reverse land degradation, while promoting social and economic benefits. Targeted, evidence-based solutions, along with further research on land-use change, investment incentives, and fair governance policies, will be essential to implement these actions and ensure their long-term adoption.

The report serves as a call to action for policymakers, stakeholders, and communities to prioritize sustainable land management practices. By addressing the urgent challenges of land degradation and utilizing the planetary boundaries framework, we can safeguard ecosystems, enhance resilience, and ensure a sustainable future for both people and nature.

Speakers:

• Ermias Betemariam, Land Health Scientist-Soils, CIFOR-ICRAF
• Fatima Denton, Director, UNU-INRA
• Christoph Gornott, Leader of the working group “Adaptation in Agricultural Systems” at PIK and the department of “Agroecosystem Analysis and Modelling”, University of Kassel
• Claudia Ringler, Director of the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, IFPRI
• Maike Voß, Advisor Rural Development and Climate Change, GIZ