Global Scans · Life on Land · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss,

• [New] Protecting a relatively small portion of land, according to Conservation International research, can secure the majority of what is called irrecoverable carbon - defined as carbon that, if emitted into the atmosphere, could not be re-absorbed by 2050. Conservation International
• [New] The UN General Assembly has declared the current decade (2021-2030) the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, indicating a dedication to restore the planet. Nature
• [New] Serving as a crucial platform for establishing a roadmap to 2030, COP 30 will also shine a spotlight on the Amazon rainforest, which is home to 60% of the world's largest intact forest and plays a vital role in global biodiversity and climate regulation. The CSR Company International
• [New] Failure to act will render it impossible to restrict the global temperature rise to the 1.5 °C limit or protect vital ecosystems like the Amazon. Greenpeace International
• [New] Food systems currently account for nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so reducing livestock production could ease pressure on ecosystems while freeing up land for reforestation and biodiversity recovery. VegNews
• [New] If the world adopted plant-based diets, farmland use could drop by as much as 75% - a land area roughly the size of the US, China, Australia, and the European Union combined. VegNews
• [New] The proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, initially with $25 billion, could finally make possible the promise to halt deforestation by 2030. Time
• [New] Roughly 1.7 billion people are living in areas where crop yields are failing due to human-induced land degradation - a pervasive and silent crisis that is undermining agricultural productivity and threatening ecosystem health worldwide. UN News
• [New] By 2030, land equivalent to the size of France could be required for biofuel crops, and that a fifth of vegetable oil is used for cars rather than food. Ag Bull Trading
• [New] Protecting and restoring ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, mangroves and peatlands could remove or avoid around 10 Gt of carbon dioxide emissions per year by 2050, which is equivalent to roughly 25% of current annual emissions. The Conversation
• [New] At the regional level, the AFR100 initiative commits over 30 countries to restoring 100 million hectares by 2030, increasingly emphasizing ecosystem restoration (e.g., avoiding conversion of natural savannas), trees outside forests, and local value chains. / South Africa EurekAlert!
• [New] More research on the impacts of large-scale land grabbing, transitions from private properties to other land tenure regimes, and ways that land claims could be strengthened when tenure formalization is not politically feasible could contribute to research in the Brazil context. Nature
• [New] Waterfront populations are expanding quickly, particularly in Asia and Africa, exposing more people to risk while also causing potential disruption to fragile coastal ecosystems. The Hydrographic Society
• [New] Switching to organic compost can reduce chemical runoff by up to 85%, preserving local waterways and biodiversity by 2026. Farmonaut
• [New] The Sundarbans, with its rich biodiversity and vital role in global ecological health, is too valuable to risk. Travel And Tour World
• [New] Protecting just 1.2% of Earth's land - specifically the most biodiverse and threatened areas - could prevent many extinctions. A-Z Animals
• [New] Governments in coffee-producing nations, including Vietnam, might be compelled to invest more in climate adaptation strategies for agriculture, provide subsidies or insurance to farmers, and implement stricter land-use planning to protect vulnerable areas. The Chronicle-Journal
• [New] Brazil's power system faces rising risks from extreme weather, biodiversity pressures, and rapid distributed generation growth. Sustainable Development Solutions Network
• [New] Unlike other global markets, Canada possesses several unique barriers to entry and adoption that could stifle widespread integration of shared e-scooters and e-bikes into its transportation ecosystem. MIT OpenCourseWare
• The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, lasting from 2021 through 2030, is a global movement aiming to support and scale up global restoration efforts while raising awareness of the importance of multi-scale restoration. IUCN
• The 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which sets the ambitious target of conserving at least 30% of the world's land and seas by 2030, with a focus on areas that offer important ecosystem services. Project Syndicate
• Tuvalu is a small Polynesian island nation in the west-central Pacific Ocean, known for its unique marine ecosystems and extreme climate vulnerability. INSIGHTS IAS - Simplifying UPSC IAS Exam Preparation

Last updated: 09 November 2025