The urgency of scaling up solutions to the interconnected climate, land and water crises is recognized in many international processes, such as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN 2023 Water Conference, the SDG Summit 2023, and the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG). It is also a priority within FAO, as reflected by the adoption of the FAO Conceptual Framework for Integrated Land and Water Resources Management (FAO, 2025b). The framework expresses the Organization’s vision for integrated land and water resources management, as well as its mission, five outcomes, the means for their achievement and linkages to the Programme Priority Areas of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–2031 (see Figure 28).
Figure 28 FAO Conceptual Framework for Integrated Land and Water Resources Management
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification highlights that climate change, land degradation and water scarcity are deeply interconnected and cannot be addressed in isolation. Land degradation exacerbates climate impacts and water shortages, while climate change accelerates desertification and disrupts water cycles (Orr et al., 2017). The convention stresses the importance of creating an enabling environment for land degradation neutrality that enhances the well-being of land users and those whose livelihood depends on land (Verburg et al., 2019). In 2024, the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNCCD, held in Riyadh, adopted Decision 19/COP16 on “avoiding, reducing and reversing land and soil degradation of agricultural lands”.x The decision calls for promoting sustainable land use to prevent and reverse the degradation of agricultural lands and soils in the context of climate change and environmental degradation. This is expected to influence future discussions and enhance the engagement of agriculture ministries and farmers.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, set targets through to 2030 for the protection of nature, including for land, soil and water resources, as well as agroecosystems. It identifies land-use change as the major direct driver of biodiversity loss, having had the largest negative impact on terrestrial ecosystems since 1970, with agricultural expansion being the most widespread form of land-use change. Target 1 aims to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance close to zero by 2030 through participatory, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning. Target 2 aims to ensure that by 2030 at least 30 percent of degraded areas are under effective restoration; this target links to the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030. Countries are encouraged to mainstream effective ecosystem restoration into their policies and plans and to build upon and reinforce existing restoration initiatives in order to scale up good practices. Regional restoration initiatives include the Pan-African Action Agenda on Ecosystem Restoration for Increased Resilience (CBD, 2018).
Effective restoration activities include reducing unsustainable resource use, rehabilitating ecosystem functions and services – for example, through agroecological practices and nature-based solutions – and reducing or removing contaminants and pollutants, including pesticides and herbicides (FAO et al., 2021). Restoration thus links to Target 11 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls upon countries to “restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as regulation of air, water, and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature”.y This new emphasis on the implementation of ecosystem-based approaches is an important opportunity to innovate and create development that supports the well-being and resilience of people and of nature.
The UN 2023 Water Conference (United Nations, 2023a), held in New York, United States of America, acknowledged that the global water cycle is out of balance. The Global Commission on the Economics of Water,z convened in the lead up to the conference, underscored the importance of governing water as a global common good, recognizing the deepening interconnections between the water crisis, climate change and the loss of the Earth’s natural capital, as well as how water flows through all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Mazzucato et al., 2024). The conference called for overcoming the dependency of food and power on water consumption, emphasizing the need for climate-smart food sources to contribute to sustainability and the adaptation of agriculture, enhancing supply chain efficiency and empowering small communities. It noted the benefits of improving agricultural water-use efficiency and addressing sources of water pollution as important opportunities for more sustainable water management in agriculture and reduced pressure on ecosystems and societies. While the conference outcome document is not legally binding on countries, the conference has been key to improving global-, regional- and national-level water governance.
The 2023 SDG Summit, also held in New York, United States of America, reaffirmed the commitment of countries and the United Nations system to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Regarding SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), the conference committed to accelerating actions to end hunger and food insecurity, including by promoting sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems. For SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), the conference committed to addressing water scarcity and to driving transformation from a global water crisis to a world where water is a sustainable resource (United Nations, 2023b).
An important global mechanism to help drive this transformation is the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), a partnership hosted by FAO. WASAG partners, including national governments, noted that changing rainfall patterns – including the resulting droughts and floods – increasing water pollution, deteriorating water quality and a warming climate put at risk the food security, water security and livelihoods of farmers and people worldwide.aa The partners committed to improving water governance to address the effects of water scarcity and climate change on global food security, to create sustainable, resilient and inclusive agrifood systems, and to position agriculture at the core of international climate change discussions. One key action area is to strengthen collaboration at national level on addressing water scarcity in agriculture. Ministries of agriculture need to work together with water, environment and other ministries connected to water resources to cooperate on policy approaches, legal and institutional frameworks, investments, data, information and knowledge-sharing. This collaboration includes regional initiatives such as regional water scarcity programmes and the inter-Regional Technical Platform on Water Scarcity.ab
