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Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils

Project
Duration: Oct 2015 - Jul 2017

The project Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils aimed to examine how the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 15.3 on 'Land Degradation Neutrality' could be implemented in Germany and at the global level. Ecologic Institute analysed potential indicators, developed an own indicator concept build on land use changes and developed policy recommendations to implement the SDG 15.3.

According to the FAO data, land degradation affects over 20% of the world population. Land and soil protection are of central importance for food security, as well as the delivery of multiple other ecosystem services. Thus, the reversal of land degradation and protection of soil functions and ecosystem services are also key to achieving sustainable development goals. The project reviewed the existing initiatives to implement the land-related SDGs, including the status of soil degradation, the relevance of soil threats and indicators for monitoring of soil status. In addition, for Germany, available and potential new instruments for the implementation of land-focused SDGs were examined. Beyond literature sources, the project results are built on a large number of expert interviews and three expert workshops.

Land Degradation Neutrality: balancing gains and losses

Year 2018

Publication:Infographic

This infographic shows a procedure how to approach the operationalization of the LDN concept and which questions have to be answered in this way. It builds on the findings of 14 UNCCD pilot studies (Global Mechanism of the UNCCD 2016a) and interprets them further. It visualizes seven strategic steps.

Steps to Implement Land Degradation Neutrality on a National Level

Year 2018

Publication:Infographic

This infographic provides a brief overview of soil values for Land Use Categories based on soil threats.

Assigning Soil Values for Land Use Categories Based on Soil Threats

Year 2018

Publication:Book Section

In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including target 15.3, which aims to strive towards land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030. This has opened a "window of opportunity" for many countries to strengthen policies for sustainable use of land and soils. This chapter first outlines the concept, the main elements and the current international framework for assessing the progress towards SDG target 15.3. Ecologic Institute's authors propose a stepwise approach to further tailor national requirements with the overall goal of LDN implementation. Since both the concept of LDN and the internationally agreed implementation framework leave room for national interpretation, the example of Germany is used to illustrate how the implementation process can be set up at the national level and what experiences have been made.

Implementing Land Degradation Neutrality (SDG 15.3) at National Level

General Approach, Indicator Selection and Experiences from Germany

Year 2018

Publication:Report

This report by Ecologic Institute deals in particular with the European discussion on the implementation of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept. It deals with the European peculiarities of implementation and develops an indicator based on land-use changes. The report is available for download.

Implementing SDG Target 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality"

Development of an Indicator Based on Land Use Changes and Soil Values

Year 2018

Publication:Report

This report presents the key concepts, definitions, and implementation approaches for SDG 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN). It discusses options for implementing LDN in Germany and suggests a proxy indicator based on land use changes. For this purpose, the core ideas, definitions and implementation approaches of the LDN concept are presented at the international level and a seven-stage procedure for national implementation is developed. This report by Ecologic Institute is available for download.

Land Degradation Neutrality

Handlungsempfehlungen zur Implementierung des SDG-Ziels 15.3 und Entwicklung eines bodenbezogenen Indikators

Year 2018

Event:Workshop

<p>Despite extensive discussions, no agreement has been found regarding a common soil indicator for measuring Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in Germany. Major obstacles include low data availability and the effort needed to measure physical soil conditions regularly. During an expert workshop on 27 March 2017 in Berlin, a new and simpler approach, developed by Ecologic Institute in cooperation with the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), was discussed to determine its suitability for LDN. The core idea of the approach is to measure land use and land use change, directly referring to soil quality in the sense of LDN. The workshop minutes are available for download.</p>

Using Land Use (Change) for the Valuation of Soil Protection

27 March 2017
Berlin, Germany

Event:Workshop

Since the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 countries worldwide have started processes towards the implementation of the goals and targets. Some of the targets are often already part of national strategies and instruments. Others are new and still need to be further specified to national circumstances – target 15.3 and the concept of "Land Degradation Neutrality" is one of these.

Implementing SDG Target 15.3 in the EU and in the Member States: Exchange of Approaches to Implement "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN)

6 December 2016
Brussels, Belgium

Event:Workshop

In implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Germany has to deal with a range of new challenges. Achieving goals in land and soil protection, for example, cannot build on a long tradition of policymaking or on a solid basis of information and data for monitoring. An expert workshop together with the Federal Agency of Environment (UBA) and Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUB) on 6 July 2016 in Berlin sought to clarify how Germany can achieve "land degradation neutrality" domestically. Stephanie Wunder from Ecologic Institute presented results from a report, which served as the basis for intensive discussions among the participants.

Implementation of "Land Degradation Neutrality" in Germany

6 July 2016
Berlin, Germany

Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany
Partner: Ecologic Institute, Germany
Team: Stephanie Wunder

Ana Frelih-Larsen

Keighley McFarland

Timo Kaphengst

Stefanie Albrecht
Duration: Oct 2015 - Jul 2017
Project ID: 2569
Keywords: International Development

Evaluation

Land Use

Land, soil, land degradation, Sustainable Development Goals, land use, soil protection

Germany, global

Literature review, expert interviews, expert workshops

Further Links

PublicationReportImplementing SDG Target 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality"

Schritte zur Operationalisierung von LDN auf nationaler Ebene

In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including target 15.3 which contains the objective to strive towards Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030. This has opened a "window of opportunity" for many countries to... Read more

Wunder, Stephanie, Timo Kaphengst, Ana Frelih-Larsen, Keighley McFarland, Stefanie Albrecht (2018): Implementing SDG target 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality": Development of an indicator based on Land Use Changes and soil values. Report number UBA-FB 00.

PublicationReportLand Degradation Neutrality

Neutralität der Bodendegradation: Ausgleich von Gewinnen und Verlusten

The 2015 agreed UN Sustainable Development Goals present a set of ambitious targets for development until 2030. One of the goals that is of high relevance for soil protection is subtarget 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN). However, the concept behind LDN yet... Read more

Wunder, Stephanie, Timo Kaphengst, Ana Frelih-Larsen, Keighley McFarland, Stefanie Albrecht (2018): Land Degradation Neutrality – Handlungsempfehlungen zur Implementierung des SDG-Ziels 15.3 und Entwicklung eines bodenbezogenen Indikators. Report number UBA-FB 00.

EventWorkshopImplementing SDG Target 15.3 in the EU and in the Member States: Exchange of Approaches to Implement "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN)

Workshop:Implementing SDG Target 15.3 in the EU and in the Member States: Exchange of Approaches to Implement "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN)

Date: 6 December 2016
Location: Brussels, Belgium

EventWorkshopImplementation of "Land Degradation Neutrality" in Germany

Workshop:Implementation of "Land Degradation Neutrality" in Germany

Date: 6 July 2016
Location: Berlin, Germany

EventWorkshopUsing Land Use (Change) for the Valuation of Soil Protection

Despite extensive discussions, thus far no agreement has been found regarding a common soil indicator for measuring Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in Germany. Major obstacles include low data availability and the effort needed to measure physical soil conditions... Read more

Workshop:Using Land Use (Change) for the Valuation of Soil Protection

Date: 27 March 2017
Location: Berlin, Germany

ProjectLegal Instruments to Implement the Objective "Land Degradation Neutral World" in International Law

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The project Legal Instruments to implement the objective "Land Degradation Neutral World" in International Law was commissioned by the German Federal Environmental Agency. It aimed to explore the legal instruments in three different case study countries which could... Read more

Legal Instruments to Implement the Objective "Land Degradation Neutral World" in International Law

Duration: May - Nov 2014
Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany

PublicationArticleLand Degradation Neutrality under the SDGs

The article "Land degradation neutrality under the SDGs: National and international implementation of the land degradation neutral world target" by Elizabeth Dooley, Ennid Roberts and Stephanie Wunder explores how the current momentum in international soil policy can be... Read more

Elizabeth Dooley, Ennid Roberts, Stephanie Wunder (2015): Land degradation neutrality under the SDGs: National and international implementation of the land degradation neutral world target, Environmental Law Network International, elni Review 1+2/2015.

ProjectFollow-up to the Rio+20 Conference: Sustainable Development Goals and the Green Economy

In June of 2012, 20 years after the first UN Summit on sustainable development, the Rio +20 Conference took place in Rio de Janeiro. The conference agreed on the notion of a Green Economy and the concept of Sustainable Development Goals, however did not decide on their... Read more

Follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference: Sustainable Development Goals and the Green Economy

Duration: Oct 2012 - Nov 2013
Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany

PublicationReportTowards Sustainable Development Goals

This report, authored by Ecologic Institute, first describes the two processes for the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda, and the options to integrate the results of both processes in order to arrive at one set of... Read more

Meyer-Ohlendorf, Nils; Benjamin Görlach and Keighley McFarland: Towards Sustainable Development Goals. UBA-Texte 18 / 2014, February 2014. Dessau: Umweltbundesamt

ProjectRNE – Global and National Sustainable Development Goals and Expectations to the Institutions and Processes in Germany

In September 2015, the United Nations is expected to adopt the Post-2015-Agenda, which will contain universal goals for sustainable development. This agenda will not only set objectives for developing countries but will also address industrialised countries and their... Read more

RNE – Global and National Sustainable Development Goals and Expectations to the Institutions and Processes in Germany

Duration: Nov 2014 - Jan 2015
Funding: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Germany

ProjectGlobal Land Use and Sustainability (GLOBALANDS)

The pressure on land and natural resources is increasing worldwide. While there are many sectoral policies tackling different environmental problems, land use is not regulated in an integrated and overarching way. The discussion on sustainable biofuels and biomass... Read more

Global Land Use and Sustainability (GLOBALANDS)

Duration: Sep 2011 - Jun 2014
Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany

International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategy (IINAS), Germany

EventConferencePolicy Recommendations to Strengthen Sustainable Land Use – Final Conference of the GLOBALANDS Project

Through which global political approaches can a (more) sustainable land use be reached? Over the last four years, the GLOBALANDS project team has attempted to answer this primary research question. On 19 May 2015, the final conference of the project took place at the... Read more

Conference:Policy Recommendations to Strengthen Sustainable Land Use – Final Conference of the GLOBALANDS Project

Date: 19 May 2015
Location: Berlin, Germany

ProjectFP 7Land and Ecosystem Degradation and Desertification: Assessing the Fit of Responses (LEDDRA)

The Ecologic Institute is a part of LEDDRA consortium. Launched in April 2010, the project will add new and will refine existing scientific and policy-relevant knowledge, especially within a cross-national context in the perspective of elaborating scientifically sound... Read more

Land and Ecosystem Degradation and Desertification: Assessing the Fit of Responses (LEDDRA)

Duration: Apr 2010 - Mar 2014
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research (DG Research), International