The Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provides a critical analysis of the state of knowledge regarding the importance, drivers, status, and trends of terrestrial ecosystems. The Report recognizes that combatting land degradation, which is a pervasive, systemic phenomenon occurring in all parts of the world, is an urgent priority in order to protect the biodiversity and ecosystem services that are vital to all life on Earth and to ensure human well-being. The Report identifies a mix of governance options, policies and management practices that can help support stakeholders working at all levels to reduce the negative environmental, social and economic consequences of land degradation and to rehabilitate and restore degraded land. The Report encompasses all the terrestrial regions and biomes of the world, recognizing that land degradation drivers and processes can vary in severity within regions and countries as much as between them, and includes the full range of human-altered systems, including but not limited to drylands, agricultural and agroforestry systems, savannahs and forests and aquatic systems associated with these areas.
Foreword -- Statements from key partners -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Summary for policymakers -- Chapter 1 Benefits to people from avoiding land degradation and restoring degraded land -- Chapter 2 Concepts and perceptions of land degradation and restoration -- Chapter 3 Direct and indirect drivers of land degradation and restoration -- Chapter 4 Status and trends of land degradation and restoration and associated changes in biodiversity and ecosystem functions -- Chapter 5 Land degradation and restoration associated with changes in ecosystem services and functions, and human well-being and good quality of life -- Chapter 6 Responses to halt land degradation and to restore degraded land -- Chapter 7 Scenarios of land degradation and restoration -- Chapter 8 Decision support to address land degradation and support restoration of degraded land.

1 online resource (XV, 686 p.) : ill., charts, maps, graphs, tables

Available online (viewed 11 Mar. 2019).
Includes bibliographical references.
Annexes (p. 651-686): I. Glossary -- II. Acronyms -- III. List of authors and review editors -- IV. List of expert reviewers.
Edited by: Luca Montanarella, Robert Scholes and Anastasia Brainich.

9783947851096