Monique Barbut talks to the Global Landscapes Forum 2017 in Bonn

Excellencies, distinguished guests, friends, and colleagues.

It

is for me an honor to open this forum, and I would like to say that we in UNCCD are very grateful

to

BMZ and the government of Germany

for

supporting the work of C4 and for bringing the GLF here in Bonn.

If

you think now

about

the sheer scale of the transformation mankind has imposed on the land

over

the last couple of centuries,

it

is indeed very alarming.

Over

the last two decades alone,

20

to 30 percent

of

the Earth's vegetated surface

has

experienced persistent declining trends in productivity.

That

is mainly as a result of land and water use and, of course, management practices. This, despite the fact that most of the resources

which

we depend on as a species,

come

from the Earth.

For

example, did you know

that

more than 90 percent of all the calories we consume

come

from the land?

So

what we are doing

right

now to the land

is

like a slow-motion suicide.

Actually,

the 19th century U.S. President James Garfield

stated

that suicide is not a remedy.

And

to step away from the age,

we

need to turn these trends on the heads. The integrated landscape approach

on

its own will not be enough. In fact, I should say

I

am not a fan at all of the term landscape approach.

It

is ambitious, yes,

but

it fails to convey our common vision

to

the outside world. Decision makers, for example, just don't get it.

It

does not also translate well into other language. I don't know, Mr. Minister, how you are going to translate it in French,

but

it is really awful.

So,

but perhaps more importantly,

it

tends to overlook

small

-scale farmers.

The

small-scale farmers

are

the true essence of rural communities.

They

have been the backbone of food production for millennium.

Their

lives and livelihoods cannot be traded away. That is no remedy either. They must be protected.

So

what then can turn the trend and transformation on its head?

We

need, I think, a clear, measurable, and impactful target.

We

need to communicate it more convincingly to the outside world.

And

we need a way

to

govern our relationship with the land so that no one is left behind.

And

to my mind,

the

work that we are currently doing in UNCCD can help do just that.

Under

SDG 15, the international community

has

formulated an ambitious vision

for

the land management of the future,

a

land-degradation-neutral world in 2030.

We

can achieve so-called land-degradation neutrality

by

conserving the land we have, avoiding the degradation of new land and managing land sustainably.

At

the same time, restoring the land we have already degraded.

LDN

targets

are

currently being set at the national level, with today 114 countries already committed.

In

fact,

more

than 70 have already set the baseline using UNCCD land-based indicators. Interestingly,

the

same data sets

are

also being used for the SDG indicator itself.

This

will be the first time

we

will have comprehensive land degradation estimates that are validated by countries. Done right,

the

potential of LDN, particular in terms of rehabilitation, is huge. But recognizing we can't do everything everywhere,

we

have to target our efforts.

We

can focus LDN on the 75 percent of the world's poorest people.

For

most, land is their only asset.

And

1.3 billion people

are

trapped on degrading agricultural land. LDN is the best chance we have to build a sustainable future for those people. And it works.

More

than 1 million hectares of degraded agriculture and forest land

has

been restored, for example,

in

east and central Tigray in Ethiopia alone.

The

knock-on effect gave women a prominent role, encourage children to attend school, improve social cohesion,

and

reduce migration levels.

It

works to the extent that the private sector

is

finally taking notice.

At

the One Planet Summit in Paris last week, the LDN found an initiative promoted by UNCCD and managed by a private sector company

to

invest in the rehabilitation of land

has

been recognized

as

one of the 12 emerging ways

to

deliver sustainable development and fight climate change at the same time.

But

to be clear, neither the UN nor the private sector

see

LDN as just another target.

It

is more of an operational framework

for

an entirely new land agenda.

Many

elements of this agenda

are

detailed in our publication, the global land outlook that you will find outside.

To

be successful, LDN and the broader new land agenda

has

to be based on the revolution in how we govern the land.

It

needs an approach based on rights, rewards, and responsibility.

In

terms of rights, there are two pressing elements, land tenures and resource rights, which allow small owners to plan for the future

and

pass down their hard-worn livelihoods to the next generation.

Overall,

in Africa, only about 10%

of

rural land is registered,

living

90% vulnerable.

Of

course, there are other institutional barriers that obstruct progress on the ground, especially emerging issues like land grabbing.

But

to be clear, without secure access

to

land resources,

the

uptake of SLM practices and restoration will not accelerate as fast or spread as widely as we need.

At

the same time, gender inequality,

whether

in terms of land tenures, access to credit and technology, legal rights or inheritance, discourages the participation of women in land management activities, closing the gender gap in the use of inputs and technologies

could

increase yields for women farmers by 20 to 30%

and

raise total agriculture output in developing countries by up to 4%.

In

terms of rewards,

the

stewards of the land need to be compensated for safeguarding the good functioning of the land.

After

all, our collective food security

and

economic growth

depend

on this natural capital. Incentives

in

the form of payment for services, insurance schemes, or the creation of strong value chains would help shift the market toward more sustainable production.

In

terms of responsibility, land use planning is about doing the right thing in the right place at the right scale.

So

finally, without a sense of responsibility

for

preserving the diverse function of the land, management decision will always favor the lowest common denominator. Responsibility means long-term thinking and planning for the future.

It

means cooperation and working together to optimize mutual outcome.

It

is a collective responsibility of consumers, producers, and everyone in between. Governments,

at

all scales, can also play a very important role.

So

moving forward, we need to work collectively to make a revolution in land governments a reality.

But

as Alexis de Tocqueville, the French writer of revolution noted,

in

a revolution as in a novel, the most difficult part

to

invent is always the end.

But

I am convinced,

and

I hope you are too, if we get an equitable balance between rights, rewards, and responsibilities,

and responsibilities. If

we are able to achieve LDN,

we

will reduce

emissions,

save biodiversity,

and

improve the human condition.

This

will, in turn, help and turn the transformations of the last century on its head.

A

revolutionary idea that could end centuries of collective destruction. I thank you.