Sustainable Development Goal 15

SDG 15: Life on land

Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Goal 15, SDG15 or SDG 15) – Life on land – is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss". The Goal has targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress towards targets will be measured by indicators.

Background

The Sustainable Development Goals

See also: Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. The broad goals are interrelated though each has its own targets to achieve. The total number of targets is 169. The SDGs cover a broad range of social and economic development issues. These include poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, Water supply, sanitation, energy, urbanization, environment and social justice.

The SDGs replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which started a global effort in 2002 to end poverty, achieve universal education, empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat diseases such as HIV, ensure environment sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. The Outcome Document of the UN Summit on the 2030 Agenda, ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, includes an emphasis on the importance of achieving progress on peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and rule of law, and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.

An annual report is prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations evaluating the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Targets and indicators

Further information: List of SDG targets and indicators

The twelve targets include:

• 15.1 Conserve and restore terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.
• 15.2 End deforestation and restore degraded forests By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally.
• 15.3 End desertification and restore degraded land By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
• 15.4 Ensure conservation of mountain ecosystems By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development.
• 15.5 Protect biodiversity and natural habitats Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.
• 15.6 Promote access to genetic resources and fair sharing of the benefits Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed.
• 15.7 Eliminate poaching and trafficking of protected species Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products.
• 15.8 Prevent invasive alien species on land and in water ecosystems By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species.
• 15.9 Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity in governmental planning By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts.
• 15.A Increase financial resources to conserve and sustainably use ecosystem and biodiversity Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems.
• 15.B Finance and incentivize sustainable forest management Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation.
• 15.C Combat global poaching and trafficking Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities.

See also

• List of SDG targets and indicators

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from UNESCO moving forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development​, 22, UNESCO.