Implementing Land Degradation Neutrality (SDG 15.3) at National Level

General Approach, Indicator Selection and Experiences from Germany

Publication: Book Section
Citation: Wunder, S., Kaphengst, T., Frelih-Larsen, A. 2018: Implementing Land Degradation Neutrality (SDG 15.3) at National Level: General Approach, Indicator Selection and Experiences from Germany. In: H. Ginzky, E. Dooley, I. Heuser, E. Kasimbazi, T. Markus and T. Qin, ed., International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2017, 1st ed.

In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including target 15.3, which aims to strive towards land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030. This has opened a "window of opportunity" for many countries to strengthen policies for sustainable use of land and soils. This chapter first outlines the concept, the main elements and the current international framework for assessing the progress towards SDG target 15.3. Ecologic Institute's authors propose a stepwise approach to further tailor national requirements with the overall goal of LDN implementation. Since both the concept of LDN and the internationally agreed implementation framework leave room for national interpretation, the example of Germany is used to illustrate how the implementation process can be set up at the national level and what experiences have been made.

This chapter builds on the insights of the German research project 'Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals on Soils in Germany' carried out by the Ecologic Institute on behalf of the German Environment Agency and the German Federal Environment Ministry. The project was finalised in July 2017.

The yearbook 2017 presents an important discussion on soil and sustainable agriculture from a range of perspectives, addressing key topics such as sustainable intensification, the FAO Voluntary Guidelines, and the crucial role of appropriate tenure rights.

The "International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy" is a book series that discusses central questions in law and politics with regard to the protection and sustainable management of soil and land – at the international, national and regional level.

Land Degradation Neutrality: balancing gains and losses

Year 2018

Publication:Infographic

This infographic shows a procedure how to approach the operationalization of the LDN concept and which questions have to be answered in this way. It builds on the findings of 14 UNCCD pilot studies (Global Mechanism of the UNCCD 2016a) and interprets them further. It visualizes seven strategic steps.

Steps to Implement Land Degradation Neutrality on a National Level

Year 2018

Publication:Infographic

This infographic provides a brief overview of soil values for Land Use Categories based on soil threats.

Assigning Soil Values for Land Use Categories Based on Soil Threats

Year 2018

Publication:Report

This report by Ecologic Institute deals in particular with the European discussion on the implementation of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept. It deals with the European peculiarities of implementation and develops an indicator based on land-use changes. The report is available for download.

Implementing SDG Target 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality"

Development of an Indicator Based on Land Use Changes and Soil Values

Year 2018

Publication:Report

This report presents the key concepts, definitions, and implementation approaches for SDG 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN). It discusses options for implementing LDN in Germany and suggests a proxy indicator based on land use changes. For this purpose, the core ideas, definitions and implementation approaches of the LDN concept are presented at the international level and a seven-stage procedure for national implementation is developed. This report by Ecologic Institute is available for download.

Land Degradation Neutrality

Handlungsempfehlungen zur Implementierung des SDG-Ziels 15.3 und Entwicklung eines bodenbezogenen Indikators

Year 2018

Event:Workshop

<p>Despite extensive discussions, no agreement has been found regarding a common soil indicator for measuring Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in Germany. Major obstacles include low data availability and the effort needed to measure physical soil conditions regularly. During an expert workshop on 27 March 2017 in Berlin, a new and simpler approach, developed by Ecologic Institute in cooperation with the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA), was discussed to determine its suitability for LDN. The core idea of the approach is to measure land use and land use change, directly referring to soil quality in the sense of LDN. The workshop minutes are available for download.</p>

Using Land Use (Change) for the Valuation of Soil Protection

27 March 2017
Berlin, Germany

Event:Workshop

Since the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 countries worldwide have started processes towards the implementation of the goals and targets. Some of the targets are often already part of national strategies and instruments. Others are new and still need to be further specified to national circumstances – target 15.3 and the concept of "Land Degradation Neutrality" is one of these.

Implementing SDG Target 15.3 in the EU and in the Member States: Exchange of Approaches to Implement "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN)

6 December 2016
Brussels, Belgium

Event:Workshop

In implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Germany has to deal with a range of new challenges. Achieving goals in land and soil protection, for example, cannot build on a long tradition of policymaking or on a solid basis of information and data for monitoring. An expert workshop together with the Federal Agency of Environment (UBA) and Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUB) on 6 July 2016 in Berlin sought to clarify how Germany can achieve "land degradation neutrality" domestically. Stephanie Wunder from Ecologic Institute presented results from a report, which served as the basis for intensive discussions among the participants.

Implementation of "Land Degradation Neutrality" in Germany

6 July 2016
Berlin, Germany

Project

The project Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils aimed to examine how the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 15.3 on 'Land Degradation Neutrality' could be implemented in Germany and at the global level. Ecologic Institute analysed potential indicators, developed an own indicator concept build on land use changes and developed policy recommendations to implement the SDG 15.3.

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils

Oct 2015 - Jul 2017

Language: English
Authorship: Stephanie Wunder

Timo Kaphengst

Dr. Ana Frelih-Larsen
Published in: Internationale Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2017
Published by: Springer-Verlag, Germany
Year: 2018
Dimension: 29 pp.
ISBN: 978-3-319-68884-8 (Hardcover), 978-3-319-88675-6 (Softcover), 978-3-319-68885-5 (eBook)
ISSN: 2520-1271
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-68885-5
Project: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils
Project ID: 2569

Further Links

PublicationBookInternational Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy 2016

The first volume of the International Yearbook of Soil Law and Policy includes an important discussion on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals that are the basis for the post-2015 development agenda up to the year 2030; the Yearbook focuses in... Read more

Ginzky, Harald et al. (ed.) 2017: International Yearbook Of Soil Law And Policy 2016. 1st ed. Springer International Publishing Switzerland.

PublicationReportImplementing SDG Target 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality"

Schritte zur Operationalisierung von LDN auf nationaler Ebene

In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including target 15.3 which contains the objective to strive towards Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030. This has opened a "window of opportunity" for many countries to... Read more

Wunder, Stephanie, Timo Kaphengst, Ana Frelih-Larsen, Keighley McFarland, Stefanie Albrecht (2018): Implementing SDG target 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality": Development of an indicator based on Land Use Changes and soil values. Report number UBA-FB 00.

PublicationReportLand Degradation Neutrality

Neutralität der Bodendegradation: Ausgleich von Gewinnen und Verlusten

The 2015 agreed UN Sustainable Development Goals present a set of ambitious targets for development until 2030. One of the goals that is of high relevance for soil protection is subtarget 15.3 on "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN). However, the concept behind LDN yet... Read more

Wunder, Stephanie, Timo Kaphengst, Ana Frelih-Larsen, Keighley McFarland, Stefanie Albrecht (2018): Land Degradation Neutrality – Handlungsempfehlungen zur Implementierung des SDG-Ziels 15.3 und Entwicklung eines bodenbezogenen Indikators. Report number UBA-FB 00.

EventWorkshopImplementing SDG Target 15.3 in the EU and in the Member States: Exchange of Approaches to Implement "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN)

Workshop:Implementing SDG Target 15.3 in the EU and in the Member States: Exchange of Approaches to Implement "Land Degradation Neutrality" (LDN)

Date: 6 December 2016
Location: Brussels, Belgium

EventWorkshopImplementation of "Land Degradation Neutrality" in Germany

Workshop:Implementation of "Land Degradation Neutrality" in Germany

Date: 6 July 2016
Location: Berlin, Germany

ProjectImplementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals for Soils

Duration: Oct 2015 - Jul 2017
Funding: German Environment Agency (UBA), Germany

PublicationArticleLand Degradation Neutrality under the SDGs

The article "Land degradation neutrality under the SDGs: National and international implementation of the land degradation neutral world target" by Elizabeth Dooley, Ennid Roberts and Stephanie Wunder explores how the current momentum in international soil policy can be... Read more

Elizabeth Dooley, Ennid Roberts, Stephanie Wunder (2015): Land degradation neutrality under the SDGs: National and international implementation of the land degradation neutral world target, Environmental Law Network International, elni Review 1+2/2015.

PublicationReportLegal Instruments to Implement the Objective "Land Degradation Neutral World" in International Law

Altvater, Susanne; Elizabeth Dooley and Ennid Roberts 2015: Legal Instruments to Implement the Objective 'Land Degradation Neutral World' in International Law. Dessau-Roßlau: UBA. ... Read more

Altvater, Susanne; Elizabeth Dooley and Ennid Roberts 2015: Legal Instruments to Implement the Objective 'Land Degradation Neutral World' in International Law. Dessau-Roßlau: UBA.