Governments and businesses currently face massive financial strain from drought and wildfires. While annual drought losses reach roughly $307 billion, the global economy continues to overlook the most effective defense mechanism available: healthy land. Instead of funding preventative restoration, public spending often prioritizes reactive disaster recovery. This approach fails to account for the role of land as critical economic infrastructure.
Healthy land provides the foundation for half of global GDP. When soil degrades, food security, supply chains, and public budgets suffer. Investing in land conservation offers a significant return on capital. Estimates suggest that restoration efforts could generate $1.8 trillion in annual value, along with tens of millions of new jobs by 2030. Despite these figures, fragmented policies and short-term thinking keep private capital on the sidelines.
Leaders meeting at COP17 in Ulaanbaatar face a chance to realign these priorities. Rangelands, which cover over half of the Earth’s surface, serve as a primary focus for current policy discussions. Organizations like the UN Convention to Combat Desertification are pushing for coordinated investment strategies that move beyond narrow environmental goals. By treating land as a vital asset rather than an external variable, governments can mitigate the risks of commodity price volatility and supply chain disruption.
Successful models already exist. The Riyadh Action Agenda has successfully mobilized billions for land resilience, providing a blueprint for the next four years. New initiatives launching at COP17 aim to standardize these efforts, making progress measurable and investable for the private sector. Every dollar put toward landscape restoration is estimated to return between seven and thirty dollars in local economic benefits. The objective now is to translate this logic into standard policy across international markets.