KAUST authors new study on land degradation

Arab News

2 days ago

RIYADH: A recent study by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology designed a new blueprint to reduce the impact of land degradation worldwide.
The Saudi university is aiming to reverse the growing threat of land degradation, and improve food and water security, social stability, and biodiversity.
The study was published in the international multidisciplinary science journal Nature, and puts forward a number of solutions to reverse the trajectory of land degradation by 2050.
One of the recommended methods involves increasing production and consumption of seafood in order to reduce the pressure that agriculture places on land.
Another is to lower food waste by 75 percent — with the study noting that one-third of food produced is wasted at a cost of more than $1 trillion annually.
Finally, the study suggests restoring 50 percent of degraded land through sustainable management practices.
KAUST reported that food production is using up to 34 percent of the planet's ice-free land, a number that could increase to 42 percent by 2050 if current situation continues.
Scientists proposed revising economic incentives, increasing food donations, and promoting smaller restaurant portions to preserve up to 13.4 million sq. km of land.
'Saudi Arabia is already doing a lot in improving food waste and looking at land restoration, but can still benefit a lot from this if policymakers implement a few of these key recommendations,' Fernando Maestre, professor of environmental science and engineering at KAUST, told Arab News.
'These include promoting smaller restaurant meals, requiring supermarkets and hotels to donate or discount near-expiry food, requiring companies to publish waste-reduction plans, investing in cold-chain and community redistribution, and expanding sustainable seafood/seaweed options that deliver nutrition with very low land and water use.
'Cutting food waste with measures like these would ease pressure on the Kingdom's scarce water resources and cut emissions, while improving food security and saving money,' Maestre added.
The study also emphasized the importance of sustainable seafood production, elaborating on how specific aquaculture policies could have the potential to lower the pressure on land resources and help reduce deforestation.
'By transforming food systems, restoring degraded land, harnessing the potential of sustainable seafood, and fostering cooperation across nations and sectors, we can 'bend the curve' and reverse land degradation,' Maestre said.
The study was carried out in collaboration with Aeon Collective and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.