Why healthy land is our greatest economic asset

Arab News

20-06-2025

https://arab.news/nxb5w
The signs are becoming harder to ignore. Crops are failing more often. Wells are yielding less water. Dust settles where food once grew. In many parts of the world, the land is growing tired — less able to support the people who depend on it. And as the soil weakens, so too do the livelihoods, economies and communities built upon it.
While land degradation is a global concern, its impact is especially pronounced in the Arab region. Stretching from North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, this part of the world is among the most vulnerable. Nearly 90 percent of land is already degraded and a combination of rising temperatures, water scarcity and stressed agricultural systems is placing an increasing strain on people and ecosystems alike.
Here, land degradation is not just about the environment — it affects the fundamentals of daily life. It shapes whether families can grow enough to eat, whether young people envision a future at home and whether communities can remain self-reliant. In some areas, it has already contributed to displacement and tension over dwindling natural resources.
While agriculture still employs 38 percent of the workforce across the Arab region, half of all calories consumed are imported. With droughts intensifying and arable land diminishing, pressure is mounting on food production and rural livelihoods across the region. Without meaningful investment in sustainable land use, the divide between those with access to fertile land and food and those without will only deepen.
Still, this is not just a problem to solve; it is a chance to rethink how we value and manage land. Not as something to be used up, but as a foundation to be protected and solidified.
We now know that land restoration delivers real returns. For every dollar invested, studies show a return of $7 to $30 in benefits. Globally, restoring 1 billion hectares of degraded land could generate up to $1.8 trillion in value annually. These are not distant ambitions — they are within reach.
Healthy land is not just an environmental priority, but a cornerstone of long-term resilience and prosperity.
Ibrahim Thiaw
Yet the financing gap remains stark. To meet global restoration targets by 2030, investments to the tune of $1 billion dollars per day are needed. The private sector currently contributes 6 percent of total investment. Scaling up both public and private finance and redirecting harmful subsidies toward sustainable land use will be necessary to keep our economic models sustainable.
Encouragingly, the Arab region is taking meaningful steps. The Arab Coordination Group has pledged $10 billion by 2030 to address land degradation and strengthen drought resilience. It is a significant move, but far more is needed. Globally, $7 trillion continues to support land-harmful subsidies and unsustainable practices, underlining the urgency of shifting resources toward land restoration.
To shift direction, we need smarter tools for investment. One of these is the Sustainable Return on Investment — a way of measuring success that includes not only financial returns, but also climate stability, biodiversity, food security and human well-being. This approach can guide both public and private capital toward lasting impact.
As we marked World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17, our message was clear: Healthy land is not just an environmental priority, but a cornerstone of long-term resilience and prosperity.
Because when we restore land, we restore choices. We restore hope and dignity. And we rebuild the foundation of a more secure, equitable, and livable world for all.
• Ibrahim Thiaw is under-secretary-general of the UN and executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.