Overhaul global food systems to avert worsening land crisis

The study “Bending the curve of land degradation to achieve global environmental goals” breaks new ground by quantifying the impact by 2050 of reducing food waste by 75 per cent and maximising sustainable ocean-based food production, measures that alone could spare an area larger than Africa.   

According to the paper food systems have not yet been fully incorporated into intergovernmental agreements, nor do they receive sufficient focus in current strategies to address land degradation. However, rapid, integrated reforms focused on global food systems can move land health from crisis to recovery and secure a healthier, more stable planet for all. The study was published in Nature this August. 

The authors underline especially the importance of halting food waste and sustainably managing lands, and suggest an ambitious but achievable target of 50 per cent land restoration for 2050 (currently 30 per cent by 2030).  And, they emphasise, the measures outlined would enormously co-benefit the climate, biodiversity and global health.   

Says lead author Fernando T. Maestre of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia: “By transforming food systems, restoring degraded land, harnessing the potential of sustainable seafood, and fostering cooperation across nations and sectors, we can ‘bend the curve’ and reverse land degradation while advancing towards goals of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and other global agreements.” 

UNCCD’s Chief Scientist and co-author Barron J. Orr adds: “Once soils lose fertility, water tables deplete, and biodiversity is lost, restoring the land becomes exponentially more expensive. Ongoing rates of land degradation contribute to a cascade of mounting global challenges, including food and water insecurity, forced relocation and population migration, social unrest, and economic inequality.” 

Key recommendations 

1. Restoring 50 per cent of degraded land through sustainable land management practices 
Land restoration must involve the people who live on and manage the land — especially Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers, women, and other vulnerable people and communities, the article says. 

To support them, the authors recommend: 

• support for small farmers – the paper calls for shifting agricultural subsidies from large-scale industrial farms towards sustainable smallholders, incentivising good land stewardship among the world’s 608 million farms, and fostering their access to technology, secure land rights, and fair markets 
• land-based taxes or tariffs to reward sustainable farming and penalise polluters 
• environmental labelling, so that consumers can make informed, planet-friendly food choices 
• better data and reporting to track emissions and land use impacts 

2.  Reducing food waste by 75 per cent could spare roughly 13.4 Mkm² (megakilometre; 1 Mkm2 = 10 km2) of land. 

The authors highlight key measures to remedy this, including: 

• policies to prevent overproduction and spoilage 
• banning food industry rules that reject “ugly” produce 
• encouraging food donations and discounted sales of near-expiry products 
• education campaigns to reduce household waste 
• supporting small farmers in developing countries to improve storage and transport 

3. Integrating land and marine food systems 

The authors recommend: 

• replacing 70 per cent of unsustainably produced red meat to sustainably sourced seafood, such as wild or farmed fish and molluscs. Doing so would spare 17.1 Mkm² of land currently used for pasture and livestock feed 
• using sustainably sourced seaweed-derived products as a vegetable substitute – replacing just 10 per cent of global vegetable intake with seaweed-derived products could free up over 0.4 Mkm² of cropland 

These changes are especially relevant for wealthier countries with high meat consumption. In some poorer regions, animal products remain crucial for nutrition. 

The combination of land restoration, food waste reduction,, and dietary shifts would spare or restore roughly 43.8 Mkm² in 30 years (2020-2050).   

The proposed measures combined would also  

• contribute to emission reduction efforts by mitigating roughly 13 Gigatonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year through 2050 
• co-benefit biodiversity by improving habitat quality and ecosystem functioning, and avoiding the conversion of remaining natural ecosystems to cropland, and  
• help the world community achieve its commitments in several international agreements, including the three Rio Conventions (climate, biodiversity and desertification), the Sustainable Development Goals and others  

Coordinated action among the Rio Conventions 

The authors call for the UN’s three Rio conventions – the UNCCD,  the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)  – to unite around shared land and food system goals and encourage the exchange of state-of-the-art knowledge, track progress and  streamline science into more effective policies, all to accelerate  action on the ground.  

(UNCCD/wi)

Reference:
Fernando T. Maesto et al.: “Bending the curve of land degradation to achieve global environmental goals”; Nature, 13^th August 2025