PROCEEDINGS of the 1st International Conference on Land Degradation & Restoration

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Introduction Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Land Degradation and Restoration Valencia, Spain, 20–26 July 2026 Land degradation represents one of the major environmental challenges of our time. It threatens food security, biodiversity, water quality, ecosystem stability, and human livelihoods. Driven by both human activities and natural processes, its effects occur across multiple spatial scales, from individual soils and hillslopes to watersheds, river basins, regions, and continents. Addressing this complex challenge requires coordinated scientific, political, and societal action at local, national, and global levels. The 1st International Conference on Land Degradation and Restoration (LDR2026) was held in Valencia, Spain, from 20 to 26 July 2026. The event brought together scientists, policymakers, land managers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to examine the causes and consequences of land degradation and to discuss effective approaches to land restoration. The programme combined three days of scientific sessions with four days of field activities, creating opportunities for the exchange of research findings, practical experience, and perspectives from different regions and disciplines. The conference strengthened scientific understanding of land-degradation processes and advanced discussion of the strategies, policies, and governance mechanisms required for successful land restoration. Its principal objective was to provide sound scientific knowledge and guidance capable of supporting policy decisions and promoting the sustainable management and use of the Earth’s natural resources. It also offered a forum for reviewing the state of the art, identifying emerging challenges, encouraging collaboration, and building networks among members of the international land-degradation and restoration community. Land degradation is generally understood as the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity of land. It includes desertification, which affects drylands across a substantial part of the planet, as well as soil erosion caused by water, wind, and tillage; salinisation resulting from the accumulation of soluble salts; soil acidification; deforestation and vegetation loss; and contamination by heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, and other pollutants. Major drivers include unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation, overgrazing, urbanisation, infrastructure development, mining, and industrial activity. These pressures interact with climate change, intensifying their effects on soils, water resources, ecosystems, and societies. The consequences of land degradation include declining soil biodiversity and fertility, reduced agricultural productivity, water scarcity, food insecurity, economic losses, and disruption of global biogeochemical cycles. These effects frequently fall most heavily on vulnerable communities and developing countries. Effective responses therefore require stronger land-use governance, appropriate regulatory frameworks, sustainable land-management policies, scientific innovation, and the active involvement of local communities. Sustainable land management encompasses a broad range of approaches, including agroforestry, conservation agriculture, reforestation and afforestation, integrated watershed and soil management, organic fertilisation, and reduced dependence on chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals. Modern technologies—such as remote sensing, geographic information systems, climate-smart agriculture, and bioengineering—can make an important contribution. At the same time, traditional practices, including terracing and traditional irrigation systems, continue to provide valuable knowledge and locally adapted solutions. Education, capacity-building, and stakeholder participation are essential to the successful and lasting implementation of these measures. Land restoration seeks to rehabilitate degraded areas so that they can recover their ecological integrity, productivity, and capacity to support human well-being. Its objectives include rebuilding soil fertility and structure, improving water retention, controlling runoff and erosion, restoring biodiversity and native vegetation, increasing climate resilience, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and strengthening food security. Restoration may take several forms. Ecological restoration focuses on re-establishing native ecosystems and natural processes. Agroecological restoration combines ecological principles with agricultural practices such as crop rotation, agroforestry, and organic farming. Land reclamation addresses severely disturbed areas, including former mining sites, through measures such as soil amendments, land reshaping, and erosion-control infrastructure. Reforestation and afforestation contribute to the recovery or establishment of tree cover on degraded and deforested land. Practical restoration techniques include revegetation with native or adapted species, contour ploughing, terracing, agroforestry, composting, mulching, check dams, swales, water-harvesting systems, and the application of soil amendments. When appropriately designed and implemented, these measures can improve agricultural productivity and water availability, enhance water quality and biodiversity, sequester carbon, mitigate climate change, reduce the risks associated with floods and landslides, and support economic development. Nevertheless, land-restoration initiatives continue to face important obstacles, including high costs, long implementation periods, insecure land tenure, governance limitations, climate variability, and the complexity of monitoring and evaluating outcomes. The conference addressed these challenges in the context of major international frameworks and initiatives, including the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Sustainable Development Goal Target 15.3 on land degradation neutrality, the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Bonn Challenge, and Africa’s Great Green Wall. Experiences from around the world have demonstrated both the difficulties and the potential of restoration. Initiatives undertaken on China’s Loess Plateau, in Rwanda’s Gishwati Forest, and through watershed-development projects in India have shown how approaches such as terracing, reforestation, agroforestry, water harvesting, and soil conservation can contribute to the recovery of degraded landscapes. Such examples also underline the need for long-term commitment, sound scientific assessment, appropriate governance, and meaningful community participation. These proceedings brought together the scientific contributions presented during LDR2026. Collectively, they reflected the diversity of processes, environments, methods, and perspectives involved in understanding land degradation and restoring degraded ecosystems. They also demonstrated the value of collaboration among researchers, public institutions, civil society, land managers, and local communities. It was hoped that the knowledge and discussions documented in this volume would contribute to stronger scientific foundations, more effective policies, and practical restoration strategies adapted to different environmental and socioeconomic contexts. The conference marked the beginning of an international forum committed to advancing knowledge, fostering cooperation, and supporting the sustainable and resilient management of land for present and future generations. 12:22 PM

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