BONN, Germany (Landscape News) — The Global Environment Facility (GEF) confirmed a record financial commitment to developing countries at a recent assembly meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Funds of $4.1 billion were pledged by governments as part of the GEF-7 replenishment cycle for the next four years to tackle the planet’s most pressing environmental problems and “deliver transformative change,” which was the main theme of the conference.

Since intact dry landscapes provide freshwater, food, fuel and fiber, air and water purification, climate regulation and wildlife habitat, land use and degradation are a natural focal area for the new GEF-7 cycle, with a $905 million allocation.

The international community is working towards halting land degradation through a commitment to land degradation neutrality (LDN). This means avoiding degradation through sustainable land management plans while reducing and reversing degradation through restoration and rehabilitation projects.

Achieving LDN will secure the ecosystem services that under current degradation scenarios place the health, livelihoods and security of an estimated 1.5 billion people at risk.

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