International scientists call for urgent global food systems reform to combat land degradation

A group of 21 scientists is calling for immediate, bold reforms of the global food system to prevent escalating land degradation. They argue that halting and reversing land degradation must become a top global priority to mitigate climate change by focusing on reducing food waste and sustainable solutions.

The paper includes researchers from Saudi Arabia, Colombia, the US, China, Kenya, Mexico, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, Germany, the UK, and Japan offering key recommendations to reverse land degradation and reshape global food systems by 2050.

These include increased focus on reducing food waste by 75%, restoring 50% of degraded land by 2050, and integrating sustainable land and marine food systems. 

Lead author Fernando T. Maestre of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia says: “This paper presents a bold, integrated set of actions to tackle land degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change together, as well as a clear pathway for implementing them by 2050.” 

“By transforming food systems, restoring degraded land, harnessing the potential of sustainable seafood, and fostering cooperation across nations and sectors, we can ‘bend the curve’ and reverse land degradation while advancing toward goals of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and other global agreements.”

Key actions for land and food sustainability

The review article, published in the journal Nature, recommends various methods such as rewarding sustainable low-impact farming and penalizing polluters, and banning food industry rules that reject “ugly” produce.

It also suggests focusing on “low-impact species” like mussels and seaweed-derived products to reduce pressure on land.

The researchers argue that these changes could restore or spare an area of land larger than Africa, with wide-reaching benefits for the environment, global health, and climate change mitigation.

Potential global benefits

The authors note that the combined impact of these actions could spare or restore roughly 43.8 million square kilometers of land by 2050, and reduce approximately 13 gigatons of CO2-equivalent emissions annually.

“Land degradation is a key factor in forced migration and conflict over resources,” says Dolors Armenteras, co-author and professor at the National University of Colombia. “These pressures could destabilize entire regions and amplify global risks.”

Another co-author, Carlos M. Duarte, a professor of Marine Science at KAUST, says integrating land and marine food systems is “fundamental to achieve food security, enable the restoration of degraded land, and maintain healthy populations.”

Coordinated global action

Beyond environmental benefits, the proposed measures could help achieve several international commitments, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, notes the paper.

The authors also call for greater coordination between the Rio Conventions (CBD, UNCCD, UNFCCC) to accelerate action on food systems and land restoration.

“Land is more than soil and space,” underscores co-author Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald of the Institute for Scientific and Technological Research of San Luis Potosí in Mexico. “It harbors biodiversity, cycles water, stores carbon, and regulates climate.”

“Yet today, modern farming practices, deforestation, and overuse are degrading soil, polluting water, and destroying vital ecosystems. Food production alone drives nearly 20% of global emissions of greenhouse gases. We need to act.”