Human life depends on the land just as we depend on the sea for food and livelihoods. Plants provide 80 percent of human food, and we depend on agriculture as an important source of our economy and a tool of development. Forests cover 30 percent of the earth’s surface, and are habitats for millions of species as well as a source of clean water and air, and are also very important to fight climate change.

Never before have we seen such a decline in soil quality, and the loss of arable land at 30 to 35 times the historical average. Long-term droughts and desertification are also increasing every year, reaching 12 million hectares and affecting poor communities around the world. Of the 8,300 known animals, 8 percent are extinct and 22 percent are on the verge of extinction.

The SDGs seek to protect and improve the use of terrestrial ecosystems such as forests, swamps, lands and mountains by 2020. Promoting sustainable forest management and halting deforestation is also critical to halting the impacts of climate change. Urgent action must be taken to reduce the loss of natural habitats and biodiversity that are part of our common heritage.

Protecting forests and other ecosystems is one of the 17 Global Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And an integrated approach is critical to progress across all of the goals.