ELD – THE ECONOMICS OF LAND DEGRADATION INITIATIVE

ELD is a global initiative that makes the values of land and its ecosystem services count in decisions: We provide robust economic evidence and support its use in land decisions with the aim to inform, promote, and scale land solutions for transformative change. These solutions include sustainable land management and restoration practices, policy instruments and institutional design, and financing for land. In working at the science-policy-practice interface, ELD brings scientific knowledge and evidence into political and business discourses and decision making.

Established in 2011 between the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the European Commission and hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the ELD Initiative recently entered its second decade of activities. More than ever, this needs to bring "Transformative action for land".

News

Inception Workshop held in Mongolia - Economics of Rio Synergies

Mongolia hosted the first inception workshop under the ELD Initiative’s Economics of Rio Synergies project, marking an important step toward economically informed, integrated implementation of the Rio Conventions at national level.

ELD Training in Mongolia - Economics and Financing of Sustainable Land Management and Ecosystem Restoration

As part of Mongolia’s preparations for UNCCD COP17, the ELD Initiative and partners conducted a training in Ulaanbaatar on the economics and financing of sustainable land management and ecosystem restoration.

ELD IMPACT REPORT 2025 – FIRST LOOK AT A DECADE AND A HALF OF GLOBAL IMPACT

The ELD Impact Report 2025 showcases how economic evidence from land assessments informs policies, investments, and restoration efforts worldwide. It highlights both the year’s achievements and ELD’s decade-long global impact.

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