Envoys from 195 nations committed to target “land degradation neutrality” at the close of an Ankara summit on Friday, which officials called a “breakthrough”.

The UNCCD estimates restoring the carbon storage capacity of land could reduce global warming by 0.5C by the end of the century.

It is a first step in meeting a newly-launched international development goal to combat desertification and restore denuded land and soil.

Some 12 million hectares are lost a year affecting 1.5 billion people, according to the Bonn, Germany-based body.

“For a very long time, we have left the land – our Queen – vulnerable,” said UNCCD chief Monique Barbut, comparing it to the important chess piece.

“By adopting Land Degradation Neutrality as an organising principle, you have given us a clear game-plan and vision and direction for the future.”

Conserving land is intertwined with biodiversity, climate change, migration and security, she said.

Report: Fighting desertification will reduce the costs of climate change
UN drought chief: ‘Famine dehumanises us, but it is not a fate’

The UN says $2 billion a year is needed to fund the target.

Donations from Turkey of $5 million and $3 million from the Global Environment Facility jump-start the process, but a huge funding gap remains.

As the global population swells to 11 billion by 2100 with two-thirds crowding into cities, preserving land will be a colossal challenge.

Available at: http://www.climatechangenews.com/2015/10/26/un-land-restoration-pact-boosts-paris-climate-summit/