Our Scans · (LF.15) Life on Land · Weekly Summary

---

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss,

• [New] Marine parks such as Gorgona contribute to the 30 x30 global agreement to conserve 30% of land, water and ocean by 2030, as outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Guardian
• [New] Ensuring microbial indicators are incorporated alongside plants and animals in IUCN and UN biodiversity targets by 2030. ScienceDaily
• [New] Today, the agrifood sector faces an unprecedented escalation of risks, from multi-year droughts in the Horn of Africa to catastrophic floods in Pakistan, from hurricanes disrupting fisheries, to pests and wildfires devastating millions of hectares of forests. FAODirectorGeneral
• [New] Farmland restoration is central to the Rio Conventions and the UN 2030 Agenda, notably SDG 15.3, which aims to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030. CNS Media
• [New] The private sector could contribute US$ 90 billion annually to on-farm nature-based solutions - including but not limited to restoration of degraded land. CNS Media
• [New] Total is building the vast East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline across Uganda and Tanzania, which would worsen the climate emergency, endanger vulnerable communities and cause significant harm to ecosystems. Join the Dots Together
• [New] As Zho has stated, Without proactive [U.S.] efforts to rebuild internal economic structure-both material (capital, factories, supply chains) and immaterial (skills, institutional memory, R&D ecosystems) - the relative power dynamic will continue to tilt toward China. Information Technology and Innovation Foundation | ITIF
• [New] Restoring insect abundance and biodiversity is no easy task, especially in the face of an all-encompassing threat like global climate change. Live Science
• [New] The UK economy grew at a more sluggish pace than expected in the third quarter of the year after being held back by Jaguar Land Rover's cyber attack. City AM
• [New] As the Race Equality Foundation warns, the UK still lacks a coordinated strategy that explicitly addresses race and class disparities in environmental exposure, community consultation and land-use decision-making. The Conversation
• [New] A signatory to UNCCD since 1996, Panama has committed to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030, identified 31 critical hotspots, and is advancing reforestation and Dry Corridor adaptation programmes. UNCCD
• [New] The Swiss Re Institute has quantified ecosystem-service decline as a material underwriting and macro-risk factor, and has developed methods to integrate biodiversity into risk models, capital allocation and reinsurance. Forbes
• [New] The UK's Dasgupta Review calls on finance ministries to embed natural-capital accounts into budgets, reform incentive structures and treat ecosystem decline as a macroeconomic risk. Forbes
• [New] Brazil is leading the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which will essentially reward countries that can limit deforestation in their territory, while also generating financing for clean energy in developing countries. CBC
• [New] The only outcome of the Belem conference will probably be the establishment of an investment fund proposed by Brazilian President Lula to finance the protection of tropical forests. Clintel
• [New] As world leaders begin COP 30 climate negotiations in Brazil this week, an international team co-led by a University of Sydney researcher has warned of a hidden crisis undermining global biodiversity and carbon targets: the quiet abandonment of conservation projects. EurekAlert!
• [New] From artisanal fishing communities in Brazil to Indigenous land defenders in Canada and coastal communities in Senegal, living near fossil fuel infrastructure is putting the health and human rights of hundreds of millions of people at risk. Climate Home News
• [New] Even if emissions have peaked though, the global average temperature will keep on heating up at least until we reach net zero, when no more greenhouse gas emissions are added to the atmosphere than are taken out by forests and other ways of removing them. Climate Home News
• [New] South-east Asia faces climate risks like rising temperatures and extreme weather, impacting ecosystems, agriculture, and infrastructure, requiring urgent adaptation measures. ST
• [New] Nature is a powerful ally - a recent study has shown that solutions beneficial to nature and biodiversity can unlock US$ 4.3 trillion of business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific, and create more than 230 million jobs. ST
• [New] Global temperatures could climb between 2.3 °C and 2.8 °C by the end of the century, leaving vast regions uninhabitable through flooding, extreme heat and ecosystem collapse. UN News
• [New] Under the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and constituent Nature Restoration Regulation the EU intends to increase protected areas to cover 30% of land and sea, and restore 20% of its land and sea areas by 2030. Environment
• Brazil hopes the TFFF, if it launches, would make forests worth more standing than cut down, and pay out to countries and communities making that happen. SKY

Last updated: 24 November 2025