Global Land Degradation Is Expanding by an Area the Size of Egypt per Year, Report Finds

A new report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), in collaboration with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), has found that global land degradation is increasing by about 1 million square kilometers per year, nearly the size of Egypt.

The report, “Stepping back from the precipice: Transforming land management to stay within planetary boundaries,” evaluated global land degradation to better understand how land use could impact planetary boundaries. By comparing land degradation within this specific scientific framework, the report authors showed how unsustainable land-system changes can impact other global systems.

In September 2024, PIK released a separate report that warned that we are about to exceed a seventh of nine planetary boundaries, putting the world at risk of surpassing tipping points and threatening the lives of humans and wildlife.

As the “Stepping back from the precipice” report notes, proper land use is essential for climate regulation, biodiversity, healthy freshwater systems and the ability to produce food and water. Further, proper land use is essential to keeping at least seven of the planetary boundaries within safe operating limits. Already, we have passed six boundaries, including land-system change.

According to PIK, original global forest cover is around 60%, while the limit for safe operation requires around 75% of forest cover. As The Guardian reported, total land degradation on Earth is already around 15 million square kilometers (5.8 million square miles), an area larger than Antarctica, which spans around 14.2 million square kilometers (5.5 million square miles). The cost of this degradation is around $6.3 trillion to $10.6 trillion each year, and around 1.2 billion people are already impacted by land degradation.

Now, the world faces continuing land degradation to the tune of an additional 1 million square kilometers (386,102 square miles) each year, PIK and UNCCD warned in the report. According to the report authors, some of the main drivers of expanding land degradation include unsustainable farming practices — which are linked to nearly 90% of forest loss — as well as deforestation and urbanization.

“If we fail to acknowledge the pivotal role of land and take appropriate action, the consequences will ripple through every aspect of life and extend well into the future, intensifying difficulties for future generations,” Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of UNCCD, told The Guardian.

As part of the report, the organizations included several recommendations for urgent actions to minimize and reverse land degradation, such as restoring forests, grasslands and savannahs; investing in sustainable agriculture practices; more sustainably managing freshwater sources; increasing public and private investments in sustainable land use; using sustainable frameworks including the planetary boundaries in policymaking; and pursuing equity and justice in all land use changes.

“These transformative actions hold great potential for addressing land degradation, but their implementation will require an enabling environment, conducive policies, significant investments and an integration of principles of fairness and justice across multiple sectors and scales,” the report concluded.