Global rangelands under threat as degradation surges across regions

New evidence shows rangelands are degrading faster than rainforests in several regions, jeopardizing food security and climate resilience for two billion people.Stretching from the drylands of Africa and Latin America to the sweeping steppes of Central Asia, the world’s rangelands underpin food security, climate stability and centuries-old pastoral heritage. These vast, overlooked landscapes cover nearly half the planet, storing significant carbon, buffering extreme weather and sustaining ecosystems in some of the world’s driest regions.Yet new global evidence reveals that rangelands are now degrading at a pace that exceeds even some tropical rainforests. This accelerating deterioration threatens livestock production, biodiversity, water regulation systems and the livelihoods of up to two billion people, many of whom depend directly on pastoralism.Preliminary findings from a global cost–benefit analysis by the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative — presented recently at the ongoing 23rd session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC23) — show that restoring rangelands delivers some of the highest returns of any ecosystem investment, generating up to USD 35 in benefits for every dollar invested.
UNCCD Chief Scientist Barron Joseph Orr said the data affirms what pastoralist communities have long advocated: “Rangelands are strategic ecological and economic assets, not marginal lands. These gains come from higher vegetation productivity, deeper carbon storage, stronger water retention, and avoided degradation.”But the threats are mounting. Between 25% and 50% of the world’s rangelands are now degraded or at risk. In regions including the Sahel, Central Asia and parts of South America,climate pressures have already begun shrinking productivity and restricting pastoralist mobility, with cascading impacts on food security and socio-economic stability.Mark Schauer, Senior Programme Officer at GIZ, which coordinates the ELD Initiative, noted: “Rangeland restoration makes economic and ecological sense. By strengthening the evidence base and partnering with pastoralist communities, we can help countries design investments that unlock long-term resilience.”For more than a decade, the ELD Initiative has supported governments in quantifying the economic value of healthy land — and the heavy losses incurred through degradation. Its new discussion paper, The Business Case for Investment in Rangeland Restoration, launched at CRIC23, will feed into a full global assessment expected at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia next August.
Growing scientific and policy consensus underscores that rangelands — long dismissed as “empty” or marginal — are in fact central to climate action, sustainable agriculture and rural development. Schauer emphasized that CRIC23 has provided crucial technical and political momentum to scale up investments in these expansive ecosystems.Experts at the meeting stressed that restoring rangelands does not hinge on costly engineering. Instead, success depends on secure land and water rights, community-led governance and mobility-based grazing systems. When pastoralists are able to move livestock according to seasonal conditions, vegetation regenerates more rapidly, soils retain moisture, and carbon stocks remain stable. This approach also strengthens resilience for Indigenous Peoples, women, youth and others whose livelihoods and cultures are closely bound to rangelands.CRIC23 comes as countries prepare for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026, declared by the United Nations General Assembly. The year is expected to bring unprecedented visibility to rangelands and the communities that steward them.“Pastoralists have cared for these lands for generations,” said Enrique Michaud, Co-Chair of the IYRP Global Alliance. “Their knowledge, mobility and stewardship are essential for restoring rangelands and building resilience.”
Ariuntuya Dorjsuren, Director General for International Cooperation at Mongolia’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, added: “Mongolia is a nation shaped by rangelands and pastoral traditions. As we prepare to host COP17, one of our priorities is to elevate rangelands on the global agenda and ensure that countries have the partnerships and investment needed to restore these vital ecosystems at scale.”UNCCD is contributing to the IYRP through its Rangeland Flagship Initiative and an upcoming Silk Road campaign in 2026, which will highlight rangeland landscapes and pastoralist cultures across a 6,000-kilometer route spanning 10 countries. These efforts build on the momentum from COP16 in Riyadh toward COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, aligning global leadership around placing rangelands at the centre of climate and development action.