Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

Life on Land


Goal 15 is about conserving life on land. It is to protect and restore terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and stop biodiversity loss.

Earth’s ecosystems are vital for sustaining human life, they contribute to over half of global GDP and encompass diverse cultural, spiritual, and economic values.

However, the world is facing a triple crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year, impacting the lives of 1.3 billion people.

Agricultural expansion is the direct driver of almost 90 per cent of deforestation. This is in direct relation to our food systems, and oil palm harvesting accounted for 7 per cent of global deforestation from 2000 to 2018.

Global and regional efforts to sustain forest ecosystems as well as their social, economic and environmental functions are essential, in particular for developing countries and the tropics.

We need to shift humanity’s relationship with nature to achieve Goal 15, and realise that nature is the root of our life of earth. The recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provides renewed impetus for Goal 15, outlining four outcome- oriented goals to be achieved by 2050 and 23 targets to be achieved by 2030.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

Inuvialuit Regional Corporation

IRC 1984 Inuvik NT Canada N

IO - Facilitating Space for Feminist Conversations

Io 1974 Quezon City Philippines F

IOAS

1997 Fargo ND USA F

IOC Sub-Commission for Africa and the Adjacent Island States

IOCAFRICA 2011 Nairobi Kenya K g

IOC Sub-Commission for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions

IOCARIBE 1982 Cartagena de Indias Colombia E g

IRC

1968 The Hague Netherlands E

Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences

IFEES Birmingham UK G f

Islamic Relief Worldwide

IRWW 1984 Birmingham UK F

Island Conservation

CI Santa Cruz CA USA G

Island Dynamics

2009 Copenhagen Denmark F

Islands Commission

1979 Rennes France E

Islands of the Baltic Sea

B7 1989 Kärdla Estonia D g

ISRIC - World Soil Information

1966 Wageningen Netherlands E

ITOPF Ltd

1968 London UK B

IUCN WCPA Specialist Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas

CSVPA 1998 Wageningen Netherlands E

IUPS Commission on Genomics and Biodiversity

2002 Seoul Korea Rep K

Ivory For Elephants

IFE G

Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development

1989 Georgetown Guyana G

Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research

BIDR 1974 Beersheba Israel G j

Jane Goodall Institute

JGI 1977 London UK E j

Japan Association for International Collaboration of Agriculture and Forestry

JAICAF 1978 Tokyo Japan G

Japan Fund for Global Environment

JFGE 1993 Kawasaki Japan G f

Japan International Forestry Promotion and Cooperation Center

JIFPRO 1991 Tokyo Japan G

Japan International Volunteer Centre

JVC 1980 Tokyo Japan G

Japan Tropical Forest Action Network

JATAN 1987 Tokyo Japan G

Jesuit Conference of European Provincials

JCEP Brussels Belgium F

Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa

JENA Nairobi Kenya F

John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel

1984 Ouagadougou Burkina Faso F f

Join For Water

1977 Ghent Belgium G

Joint Committee of IAHR and IAW on Urban Drainage

JCUD 1982 Burlington ON Canada E v

Joint European Disruptive Initiative

JEDI Paris France J

Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection

GESAMP 1969 London UK E gv

Joint IOC/IHO Guiding Committee for the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans

GEBCO 1972 Monte Carlo Monaco E

Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Fund on the Transfer of Real Resources to Developing Countries

Development Committee 1974 Washington DC USA E g

Jóvenes del Tercer Mundo

1988 Madrid Spain G

JRE- Jeunes Restaurateurs

JRE 1990 Eindhoven Netherlands D v

JUSCANZ Group

F g

Just World Partners

1981 Edinburgh UK G

Justdiggit

2013 Amsterdam Netherlands G f

Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands

KURCPI 1988 Kagoshima Japan N

Kaleidoscope Trust

2011 London UK G

Kevo Subarctic Research Institute

1956 Ivalo Finland N j

KIMO International

1990 Lerwick UK D

King Faisal Foundation

KFF 1976 Riyadh Saudi Arabia G f

Knowledge Ecology International

KEI 2006 Washington DC USA F

Kontaktstelle für Umwelt-und Entwicklung

KATE 1997 Stuttgart Germany G

Kurdish Women Action Against Honour Killing

KWAHK 2000 N

Kushiro International Wetland Centre

KIWC 1995 Kushiro Japan N

Kuwait Regional Convention for Cooperation on the Protection on the Marine Environment from Pollution

1978 Safat Kuwait T g

La main tendue

1982 Lamorlaye France G

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