Rio Synergies: Mobilizing Action for Land, Biodiversity and Climate
Coordinated restoration activities leveraging Rio synergies can reduce costs in Rwanda by 45.6 million USD per year and in Central Asia 7.9 billion USD between 2020-2050.
About the project
Together with partners, the ELD Initiative assesses the economics of harmonizing land-based Rio-targets. Land is the common denominator between the three Rio conventions: the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). But their implementation currently lacks coordination and coherence. As a consequence, the conventions compete for land and resources to achieve their targets systems, synergies remain low and transactions costs are high.
Collaboration between UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD is vital to achieve land degradation neutrality, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within the conventions, land restoration emerges as a pivotal activity with significant potential to enhance synergies and minimize conflicts.

ELD Case Study of Rio Synergies in Central Asia
“Leveraging synergies from integrative land-biodiversity-climate action through ecosystem restoration in Central Asia”
In a world grappling with the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, the need for coordinated action has never been more apparent. Central Asia, a region that has witnessed significant shifts in land use and land cover over the past two decades, stands as a testament to both the potential and urgency of addressing these issues in an interconnected manner.
Behind this background GIZs Regional Programme for Integrative and Climate-sensitive Land Use for in Central Asia (ILUCA) together with the ELD Initiative and partners have conducted a study process to leveraging synergies from integrative land-biodiversity-climate action in Central Asia.
Access the Central Asia policy brief.

ELD Case Study of Rio Synergies in Uzbekistan
“Leveraging synergies from integrative land-biodiversity-climate action for improving monitoring, reporting, and investments into land restoration in Uzbekistan”
In a world grappling with the interlinked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, the need for coordinated action has never been more apparent. Land degradation poses a significant environmental, economic, and social challenge for Uzbekistan, leading to substantial losses in productivity, biodiversity, and ecosystem services as well as climate change costs. Between 2001 and 2020, the country incurred an estimated 3 billion USD in economic losses due to ecosystem degradation.
Behind this background GIZs Regional Programme for Integrative and Climate-sensitive Land Use for in Central Asia (ILUCA) together with the ELD Initiative and partners have conducted a study process to leveraging synergies from integrative land-biodiversity-climate action in Uzbekistan.
Access the Uzbekistan policy brief.

ELD Case Study of Rio Synergies in Rwanda
"Economics of Harmonizing Land Restoration Activities across the Rio Conventions in Rwanda and Implications for Food Security"
This study explores the untapped potential for synergies that can emerge through collaborative programming and implementation of land restoration activities under the Rio Conventions in Rwanda against the backdrop of the nation's ambitious goals for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) action plans.
Key results
Coordinated implementation of land-focused activities under the Rio Conventions can significantly reduce transaction costs associated with land restoration in Rwanda, resulting in a nearly 56% reduction. Hence, coordinated implementation is projected to yield annual savings of approximately 45.6 million US dollars when compared to the separate execution of activities under the three Rio Conventions.
Access the policy brief and read the full report.