SDG #15 is to “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”
Within SDG #15 are 12 targets, of which we here focus on Target 15.3:
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
Target 15.3 has one indicator:
Indicator 15.3.1: Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area
We want to conserve and protect nature, part of which involves ensuring we don’t lose the soil which is the foundation for so much of life. Mitigating and preventing land degradation allows ecosystems to function. It also helps assure food security. Climate change is exacerbating desertification also.
As of 2019, the country with the highest proportion of degraded land, by a large margin, is Mexico with 71%. Land degradation worldwide stands at 15%.