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

Lambda Alpha International

LAI 1930 Wheaton IL USA N

Land Healers Foundation

LHF 2018 F f

Land O'Lakes International Development

1981 Shoreview MN USA G

Land Research Action Network

LRAN F

Land Tenure Center, Madison WI

LTC 1962 Madison WI USA N

LANDac - Netherlands Land Academy

LANDac 2010 Utrecht Netherlands G

Landcare International

LI Nairobi Kenya F

Landesa - Rural Development Institute

Landesa 1967 Seattle WA USA G j

Landlife International

Accra Ghana N

LandsAid - Verein für Internationale Humanitäre Hilfe

LandsAid 2014 Kaufering Germany G

Latin America Bureau, London

LAB 1977 London UK G

Latin American and Caribbean Forestry Commission

LACFC 1948 Santiago Chile E g

Latin American and Caribbean Network for Social Ecology

1989 Montevideo Uruguay F

Latin American Art Resource Project

LAARP 1995 Washington DC USA G

Latin American Association for Mycology

1990 D v

Latin American Association of Environmental Mutagens, Carcinogens and Teratogens

1980 Montevideo Uruguay D v

Latin American Center of Social Ecology

1989 Montevideo Uruguay E

Latin American Forestry Institute

1959 Mérida Venezuela G gj

Latin American Forum of Environmental Sciences

1989 La Plata Argentina F

Latin American Network against Monoculture Tree Plantations

J

Latin American Quality Institute

LAQI 2001 Panama Panama D j

Latin American Society of Soil Science

1955 Cuautitlan Izcalli Mexico D

Latin American Solidarity Group of Norway

1977 Oslo Norway N

Lawyers Alliance for World Security

LAWS 1981 Washington DC USA G

Leadership for Conservation in Africa

LCA 2006 F

Leadership for Environment and Development

LEAD International 1991 Epsom UK E

League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development

LPP 1992 Ober-Ramstadt Germany G

Learning Environments Australasia

A4LE Beechworth VIC Australia G

Learning for Life

LFL London UK G

Leather Working Group

LWG 2005 Northampton UK D

Legacy17

2016 Sollentuna Sweden J v

Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Ecology

1991 Bremen Germany G

Lessons for Life

London UK G f

Let's Promote Europe

LPE 2019 Saarbrücken Germany J

Leuser International Foundation

LIF 1994 Jakarta Indonesia G f

Life Cycle Initiative

LCI 2002 Paris France E y

Life Decisions International

LDI 1992 Front Royal VA USA G

LIFE Network

2000 Ober-Ramstadt Germany J

Lifeforce Foundation

1980 Vancouver BC Canada N f

Lighthawk

LH 1980 Telluride CO USA G

Lions Clubs International

LCI 1917 Oak Brook IL USA F

Liquid Gas Europe

1968 Brussels Belgium D t

Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards

LEGS 2009 Great Holland UK F

Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership

LEAP 2012 Rome Italy E y

Living Earth Foundation

1987 London UK G f

Local Futures

1975 D

Long Distance Advisory Council

LDAC 2004 Madrid Spain E y

Lutheran World Relief

LWR 1945 Baltimore MD USA G

Macquarie University Centre for International and Environmental Law

MU-CIEL Sydney NSW Australia G

Mad'in Europe

2013 Brussels Belgium J

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