The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative is a global initiative which aims to increase awareness of the benefits of sustainable land management and economic consequences of land degradation. The ELD Initiative was co-founded in 2011 by the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Commission (EC) and is hosted by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The ELD Secretariat is based in Bonn, Germany. The ELD Initiative is focused on developing globally relevant data and methodology on the economic benefits of land and land based ecosystems for decision-makers. This way, the Initiative highlights the benefits of adopting sustainable land management practices and seeks to establish a global approach to conducting economic analyses of land management. Moreover, the ELD Initiative provides a platform for discussion between stakeholders from the policy, science and private sectors, as well as a Knowledge Hub providing a database of educational materials, related knowledge and access to a broad range of scientific and policy publications. Background Land degradation Land degradation and desertification threaten people’s livelihood on a global scale. Every year, 20 million hectares of fertile land become degraded and within the last 40 years, around one third of the total agricultural land on earth has become unproductive through degradation processes. Less developed countries are more vulnerable to desertification and land degradation, as they lack the infrastructure and capital to deal with this threat and implement long-term sustainable land management. Soil on degraded land is less resilient and crops grown on degraded soil produce lower yields. Land degradation also negatively influences global food security: in the next 25 years, global food production might drop by up to 12%. This will lead to an increase in average food prices of up to 30%. Estimates show that the annual costs of land degradation are up to €3.4 trillion. Paired with the growing world population and an increasing demand for alternative land management products such as biofuels land degradation causes poverty, food insecurity, reduced availability of clean water, and increased vulnerability towards climate change and extreme weather conditions. Land is covered by different ecosystems, which can be valued to include all the services they provide to society: supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural services. These ecosystem services were estimated in 2011 to have a global worth of USD 125 trillion/yr. This shows a