Land is being degraded rapidly worldwide. Our current agricultural practices are causing soils worldwide to be eroded up to 100 times faster than natural processes replenish them. At this critical moment, enabling the full contribution of women to halting land degradation and tackling drought is needed now more than ever.

Women comprise nearly half of the world’s agricultural workforce, producing 60–80 per cent of the food grown in developing countries1, so are poised to lead on sustainable land management practices while keeping their families and communities fed.

Sustainable land management (SLM) plays a pivotal role in land restoration and in achieving Land Degradation Neutrality. Despite steady efforts by governments and international development agencies to promote SLM, its rate of adoption remains low. While many reports and articles have addressed constraints on the adoption and upscaling of SLM, few have made the connection between land tenure security, land restoration and SLM, though there has been greater focus on this nexus since the UNCCD Decision 26 / COP 14 on land tenure.