IFPRI Policy Seminar “Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement--A Global Assessment for Sustainable Development” held on December 3, 2015. Presentation by Alisher Mirzabaev, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn.

1. Drivers of land degradation
and policy implications for taking action
to achieve SDG target of net zero land
degradation by 2030
Alisher Mirzabaev
Center for Development Research (ZEF)
University of Bonn
Book Launch Seminar, IFPRI
December 3, 2015
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2. Why addressing land degradation matters
• Land degradation hotspots cover 30% of global land
area (Le et al. 2015, Ch 4), with annual losses of
300 bln USD (Nkonya et al. 2015, Ch 6).
• Land degradation has the highest impact on the
poorest agricultural households (von Braun et al.
2013)
• Therefore, addressing land degradation is crucial
for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
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3. The research questions
• What are the major causes of land degradation?
• How to facilitate sustainable land management ?
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4. Global, national and regional case studies
- Good coverage of major global biomes, and of various
socio-economic and institutional characteristics
Map source: modified from Wikipedia Commons 4

5. What is needed for Sustainable
Land Management
• SLM drivers consistent across scales and locations :
• Rule of law
• Better market access, especially in densely populated
rural areas
• Land tenure security
• Availability of nonfarm jobs
• Access to extension and knowledge dissemination
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6. Government effectiveness and SLM
Source: Nkonya et al. (2015). IFPRI Issue brief 90 6

7. Land degradation and the poor, Central Asia
0
.2
.4
.8
.6
LanddegradationbasedonNDVIanalysis(0-No,1-Yes)
Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Categories: 1-poor, 2-middle, 3 –rich. Source: the survey dataset
Source: Mirzabaev et al. (2015), Chapter 10
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8. The Poor and SLM Use in Central Asia
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
UseofSLMtechnologies(0-No,1-Yes)
1 2 3 4 5
Categories: 1-poorest, … 5-richest. Source: the survey dataset
Source: Mirzabaev et al. (2015), Chapter 10
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9. SLM adoption remains low
Source: Mulinge et al. (2015), Chapter 16
Kenya
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10. (Paradox of) low SLM adoption
Niger
Source: Moussa et al. (2015), Chapter 17.
Most profitable practices are adopted the least.
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11. What we need to build momentum of addressing land
degradation
• Strong global leadership in addressing land degradation through
SDGs.
• Addressing land degradation contributes not only to SDG 15, but
also directly to the achievement of several other SDGs:
• SDG 1 on eradicating poverty
• SDG 2 on achieving zero hunger
• SDG 13 on climate action
• Achieving the objectives of SDG 15, including zero net land
degradation, may also itself depend on the achievement of
several other goals, such as SDG 16 on effective institutions.
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12. What we need to build momentum of addressing land
degradation
• Payments for ecosystem services to allow land-users to
internalize some of the positive externalities of SLM (e.g. Costa
Rica)
• Continued emphasis on effective and accountable institutions in
international development programs (e.g. community-driven SLM
in Niger)
• Integrated approaches with other development goals (ex, Water-
Energy-Food Security Nexus), to minimize externalities and trade-
offs.
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