Living Lands Charter

What does the Living Lands Charter mean?

• It is the non-binding charter that mandates member countries to safeguard global land resources and arrest land degradation while acting against climate change, biodiversity loss and towards sustainable management. 
• It was announced on June 25, 2022 at the conclusion of the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali. 
• The Charter helps to encapsulate the combined effort to hold the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 
• With this they have agreed to voluntarily dedicate a ‘living land’ in their respective countries to future generations, in line with the strategy set for the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
• More than a third of land has been degraded in the last two decades and recognised that the vulnerabilities of the ecosystems to land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change are closely interrelated and need to be considered collectively.
• It aimed to support member countries to effectively deliver their commitments under the three Rio conventions such as UN Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The leaders recognised that this requires “rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions”, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net-zero around mid-century, as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gases.
• They called on developed countries to fully deliver on the $100 billion goal urgently and through to 2025 and emphasised the importance of transparency in the implementation of their pledges.