Urgent need for new approach to combat global grassland degradation

Global grasslands are a source of biodiversity and provide a host of benefits to humans, including food production, water supply, and carbon storage. But their future looks bleak without action to halt their degradation and promote their restoration, according to the authors of a new paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment . A team of international experts, led by The University of Manchester , propose a series of strategies to halt the degradation of grasslands globally and promote their restoration to meet sustainable development goals. The study highlights how the world's grasslands - which cover about 40% of the Earth's land surface and some 69% of the world's agricultural land area - are under severe threat from on-going degradation. Yet grasslands are largely ignored in sustainable development agendas. The authors spell out how this poses a major threat to hundreds of millions of people around the world who rely on grasslands for food, fuel, fibre, medicinal products, as well as their multiple cultural values. The team, which includes experts from major grassland regions of the world, propose a set of strategies to combat grassland degradation and promote restoration.