Land Degradation Nuetrality

LDN

Land Degradation Neutrality is one of the key initiatives of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. It aims to strengthen the implementation of the Convention by balancing land degradation and land restoration in member countries by 2030. This approach has also been adopted as part of Sustainable Development Goal 15.3, which calls for combating desertification, restoring degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and striving to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.

Land Degradation Neutrality refers to a condition in which the amount and quality of land resources required to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specific temporal and spatial scales. For Iran, where large parts of the country are located in arid and semi-arid regions, this concept is directly linked to combating desertification, reducing wind and water erosion, restoring degraded lands, conserving soil and water resources, and strengthening the resilience of natural ecosystems.

The Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization follows Land Degradation Neutrality through restoration, rehabilitation and sustainable management of forests, rangelands and desert areas. In this framework, activities such as increasing seedling production, expanding restoration operations, improving vegetation cover, managing rangelands, controlling desertification, reducing wind erosion and rehabilitating degraded natural resources contribute to balancing land degradation with land recovery.

Iran has approved the Land Degradation Neutrality approach and has taken steps to define related national targets. The National Plan for Planting One Billion Trees is considered a forward-looking response to the country’s need for increasing ecosystem goods and services. By expanding restoration operations in forests, rangelands and desert areas, this plan supports the broader national direction toward land restoration and degradation reduction.

In the Seventh National Development Plan, reducing wind erosion and critical wind erosion hotspots by 20 percent has been identified as an important target. Considering the average wind erosion rate of 19 tons per hectare and the 29.6 million hectares of land affected by wind erosion, large-scale desertification control and land restoration operations have been projected as part of the national response. Through scientific planning, field implementation, public participation and international cooperation, the Organization seeks to reduce land degradation, restore ecological functions, protect soil and water resources and support sustainable land management for present and future generations.

Sand and Dust Storm Control

Wind erosion and sand and dust storms are among the major environmental challenges in Iran’s arid and semi-arid regions. Wind erosion occurs when soil particles are displaced by wind from their original location and deposited elsewhere. Its most visible forms include sand and dust storms and the formation of mobile sand dunes. In dry areas with weak vegetation cover and fragile soil structure, wind erosion becomes a continuous threat to soil fertility, ecosystems and human settlements.

Iran is seriously exposed to this phenomenon due to its geographical location and climatic conditions. Nearly two-thirds of the country is covered by arid and semi-arid regions, and about 29.5 million hectares of land are affected by wind erosion. According to the national study on critical wind erosion hotspots conducted in 2019, critical hotspots cover about 13.9 million hectares. These areas include source, transport and deposition zones where wind erosion causes damage to infrastructure, economic and social resources, and biological assets.

Sand and dust storms have significant environmental, economic and social impacts. They contribute to the loss of fertile topsoil, degradation of natural resources, damage to infrastructure, increased accidents, poverty, migration, and eye and respiratory diseases. Therefore, controlling wind erosion and reducing sand and dust storm sources are key priorities in desertification control and sustainable land management.

The Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization controls wind erosion through detailed and executive desertification control plans, desert area management plans, and specific projects for critical wind erosion hotspots. The main operational measures include seedling plantation, runoff management, construction of sediment traps, establishment of living and non-living windbreaks, protection and enclosure of vulnerable areas, mulching where appropriate, seeding and seed broadcasting, and management of planted forests.

The Organization also links sand and dust storm control with land restoration, vegetation improvement, soil protection, watershed management and community participation. International experiences such as the Rehabilitation of Forest Landscapes and Degraded Lands Project have supported the establishment of the first wind erosion measurement stations in the country and strengthened technical knowledge in monitoring and managing wind erosion.

Looking ahead, reducing wind erosion and critical wind erosion hotspots by 20 percent has been defined as a target in the Seventh National Development Plan. Based on an average wind erosion rate of 19 tons per hectare and the estimated 29.6 million hectares of affected lands, large-scale desertification control operations have been planned. The Organization also pursues regional and international cooperation, particularly for controlling transboundary sand and dust storm sources, through collaboration with international bodies and countries facing desertification, land degradation and drought.

desertification and drought

Desertification, land degradation and drought are among the most serious environmental challenges affecting Iran’s natural resources. Due to its geographical location and climatic conditions, nearly two-thirds of Iran is covered by arid and semi-arid regions. In these areas, limited vegetation cover, fragile soil structure, drought, wind erosion and land degradation increase the vulnerability of ecosystems, rural livelihoods, infrastructure and biological resources.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was adopted in 1994 to support policy-making for combating desertification, land degradation and the harmful impacts of drought. Along with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, it is one of the three major environmental conventions linked to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The Convention aims to combat desertification, control land degradation and reduce the impacts of drought in countries seriously affected by these challenges, through effective national action and international support.

In Iran, the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization acts as the national coordinating body for combating desertification. Important structural measures have included the establishment of the National Working Group on Combating Desertification, designation of the Organization as the national coordinating body, preparation of the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification, identification of national desertification indicators and criteria, and implementation of national and international projects such as the Carbon Sequestration Project and the Rehabilitation of Forest Landscapes and Degraded Lands Project.

Combating desertification in Iran is carried out through detailed and executive desertification control plans, desert area management plans and projects for controlling critical wind erosion hotspots. Operational measures include seedling plantation, runoff management, construction of sediment traps, establishment of living and non-living windbreaks, protection and enclosure of vulnerable areas, mulching where appropriate, seeding and seed broadcasting, and management of planted forests. These activities aim to restore vegetation cover, stabilize soil, reduce wind erosion and improve the ecological resilience of degraded lands.

Wind erosion is one of the most visible manifestations of desertification in Iran. About 29.5 million hectares of the country’s lands are affected by wind erosion, and according to the national study conducted in 2019, critical wind erosion hotspots cover about 13.9 million hectares. These hotspots include source, transport and deposition areas where wind erosion damages infrastructure, economic and social assets, and biological resources. The consequences include loss of fertile topsoil, poverty, migration, accidents, and eye and respiratory diseases.

Looking ahead, reducing wind erosion and critical wind erosion hotspots by 20 percent has been defined as a target in the Seventh National Development Plan. Based on an average wind erosion rate of 19 tons per hectare and 29.6 million hectares of affected lands, 1,732,605 hectares have been projected as the overall commitment for desertification control operations. The Organization also gives priority to international cooperation and knowledge exchange with institutions such as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the United Nations Development Programme and FAO, as well as bilateral and regional cooperation with countries affected by desertification, land degradation, drought and transboundary sand and dust storm sources.

Land Degradation Nuetrality

Land Degradation Neutrality