Supporting SDG 15, Life on Land: Identifying the Main Drivers of Land Degradation in Honghe Prefecture, China, between 2005 and 2015

Tuo Wang,Gregory Giuliani,Xiaodong Shao,Liping Li,Huihui Zhao,Yangming Jiang,Anthony Lehmann

doi:10.3390/ijgi9120710

Abstract

The essence of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations is described in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 15 focuses on Life on Land, in other words, terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as their services. Land degradation is a severe anthropic and natural phenomenon that is affecting land use/cover globally; therefore, a dedicated target of the SDG 15 (the indicator 15.3.1) was proposed. The identification of the areas where land degradation has occurred and the analysis of its drivers allow for the design of solutions to prevent further degradation in the studied areas. We followed the methodology proposed by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to study the land degradation in the Honghe Prefecture in southwest China between 2005 and 2015. Through spatial analysis, we found that the degraded areas were consistent with the areas of active human activities (such as urban centers), while the impact of natural factors (such as disasters) on land degradation existed in small areas at high altitudes. Land degradation was affected primarily by the loss of land productivity and secondly by land cover changes caused by the growth of artificial areas. Changes in the soil organic carbon were not significant. We concluded that human activity was the main driver of land degradation in Honghe Prefecture. Decision makers should work to find a balance between economic development and environmental protection to restore degraded land and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral prefecture to defend all ecosystem services.

Highlights

The United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015 [1]
Following the Good Practice Guidance of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) [10], the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 15.3.1 indicator is composed of three sub-indicators: (1) land cover and land cover change, (2) land productivity, and (3) soil organic carbon stocks
We analyzed the land degradation in Honghe Prefecture from three aspects and found that human activities, such as urbanization, road construction, and mining development directly led to changes in the land cover, and the population growth accelerated this process [64,65]

Summary

Introduction

The United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015 [1]. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all” that includes 17 goals, 169 targets, and over 230 indicators. Increasing institutions and scholars have begun to study and evaluate the progress of different targets in different countries, working together to achieve the goals set by the UN to ensure a greener growth and a more sustainable development of the planet. The factors affecting land degradation include natural and anthropogenic processes. Anthropogenic factors include urbanization, population migration, poor land-use planning, and various wastes or pollution caused by economic development. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) provides guidance to calculate the proportion of degraded land [10,11,12]

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