FAO Says Land Degradation Costs Up to $6.3 Trillion a Year as Restoration Gap Persists

The economic cost of failing to restore degraded land is running between US$878 billion and US$6.3 trillion a year, according to FAO's State of the World's Forests 2026.

FAO estimates that 1.56 billion hectares of land are degraded, a scale roughly 53 times the land area of Italy.

Forests and trees matter directly to agriculture because they influence water cycles, soil protection, pollination, climate resilience and the livelihoods of rural communities as well as timber production.

Countries and international initiatives have pledged more than one billion hectares of land for restoration over the past two decades, but commitments do not necessarily mean restoration has been completed.

FAO says at least 470 million hectares still need to be brought under restoration by 2030 to meet global goals, leaving a substantial implementation gap.

The report argues that restoration can generate economic as well as ecological returns. Restoring more than one billion hectares could produce around US$1.8 trillion a year in benefits through improved ecosystem services and productive landscapes.

The economics depend heavily on location, land use, governance and project quality, so headline global benefit figures should not be interpreted as guaranteed returns for every restoration project.

For agriculture and forestry, the central message is that degraded land is no longer only an environmental indicator. It represents a production, resilience and investment problem large enough to affect food systems, water availability and rural economies.