World loses trillions of dollars worth of nature's benefits each year due to land degradation

http://ekaweb01.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/tca-wlt091015.php

Public Release: 15-Sep-2015
World loses trillions of dollars worth of nature's benefits each year due to land degradation
50 million migrants may be created in a decade
United Nations University

To better inform the tradeoffs involved in land use choices around the world, experts have assessed the value of ecosystem services provided by land resources such as food, poverty reduction, clean water, climate and disease regulation and nutrients cycling.

Their report today estimates the value of ecosystem services worldwide forfeited due to land degradation at a staggering US $6.3 trillion to $10.6 trillion annually, or the equivalent of 10-17% of global GDP.

Furthermore, the problem threatens to force the migration of millions of people from affected areas. An estimated (http://bit.ly/1JZwelL) 50 million people may be forced to seek new homes and livelihoods within 10 years. That many migrants assembled would constitute the world's 28th largest country by population.

Effectively addressing land degradation could help avert that humanitarian crisis and add US $75.6 trillion to annual world income, according to the report, "The Value of Land", produced by The Economics of Land Degradation Initiative.

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