Goal 15 of 17

Life on land

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

What this goal is about

Goal 15 is about the living land: forests, wetlands, mountains, grasslands and drylands, and the plants, animals and fungi that live in them. It asks countries to stop cutting down forests faster than they regrow, to restore soil that has been worn out, and to stop species sliding towards extinction.

This matters well beyond nature reserves. Forests and soils store carbon, hold water, keep farmland productive and give work and income to hundreds of millions of people. When land degrades, crops fail more often, floods and droughts hit harder, and the diseases that jump from wild animals to people become more likely.

Progress is mixed. Forest loss has slowed and more key wildlife areas are protected than in 2000, but the UN's own figures show species are still heading towards extinction faster than before, and degraded land grew in the late 2010s.

31.8%share of the world's land covered by forestUnited Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, 2025

41 million hanet forest area lost worldwide since 2015United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, 2025

48,600+species assessed as threatened with extinctionUnited Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, 2026

15.5%share of land degraded, up from 11.3% in 2015United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, 2019

The main targets

15.1

Conserve, restore and use land and inland freshwater ecosystems sustainably, especially forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands.

15.2

Manage all types of forest sustainably, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and greatly increase tree planting and regrowth.

15.3

By 2030, fight desertification and restore degraded land and soil, aiming for a world where land degradation is cancelled out.

15.4

By 2030, conserve mountain ecosystems and their wildlife so they keep supporting the people and economies that depend on them.

15.5

Act urgently to reduce damage to natural habitats, halt biodiversity loss and protect threatened species from extinction.

15.7

End poaching and trafficking of protected plants and animals, tackling both the supply of and demand for illegal wildlife products.

15.8

Prevent invasive alien species from arriving, cut their impact on land and water, and control or remove the priority species.

15.9

Build the value of ecosystems and biodiversity into national and local planning, development, poverty reduction strategies and accounts.

Summaries in plain English. The full wording of every target and indicator is on the UN Goal 15 page.

What businesses can do

Know where your raw materials come from. Map which suppliers provide wood, paper, palm oil, soy, cocoa, coffee, rubber or leather, and ask for proof of origin. You cannot fix forest risk you cannot see.
Prepare for deforestation rules. If you sell into the EU, check how the EU Deforestation Regulation applies to your products; the main obligations start on 30 December 2026.
Cut paper, packaging and waste. Switch to recycled or certified paper and packaging, and remove what customers do not need. It is cheap, visible and easy to measure.
Look after the land you control. Use native plants on your site, avoid peat-based compost, and leave space for wildlife. Small sites add up when many businesses act.
Report nature risks honestly. Start a simple record of how your business depends on and affects nature. Frameworks such as the TNFD recommendations show what larger buyers and investors will ask.

What you can do

Record wildlife you see. Log sightings on citizen science apps such as iNaturalist, with a parent or teacher's help if you are under 18. Scientists use these records.
Buy less, and buy checked. Choose second-hand furniture and look for credible certification on wood, paper and food that can drive forest loss.
Travel without harming wildlife. Pick responsible nature tourism, stay on paths and never buy souvenirs made from wild animals or plants.
Join a restoration day. Volunteer with a local group planting native species, clearing invasive plants or monitoring a nearby green space.

Where digital tools help

Satellites and software now show forest loss within days rather than years. Global Forest Watch publishes weekly deforestation alerts built on NASA Landsat imagery, Brazil's MapBiomas network maps land use every year from 1985 onwards, and AI models such as Google's open-source SpeciesNet sort camera trap photos so researchers spend less time on empty frames. Rangers use tools such as SMART to plan patrols and record poaching. These tools help people find problems faster and target effort, but they do not stop a chainsaw: enforcement, land rights and money for the people who look after the land still decide the outcome.

Automation Web apps and SaaS