Evaluation of FAO’s contribution to SDG 15: Life on land
Healthy ecosystems protect the planet and sustain livelihoods. Forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in particular, provide myriad environmental goods and services - clean air and water, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Forests and rangelands sustain a range of industries, generate jobs and income and act as a source of food, medicine and fuel for more than a billion people.
Today, however, natural resources are deteriorating, ecosystems are stressed and biological diversity is being lost across the globe. Land use changes, including deforestation, result in a loss of valuable habitats, a decrease in clean water, land degradation, soil erosion and the release of carbon into the atmosphere. They contribute to the loss of valuable economic assets and livelihood opportunities.
