Land degradation threatens food security, livelihoods, and ecosystems worldwide, making sustainable land management central to global environmental action.

Since 2002, the GEF land degradation focal area (LDFA) has served as the main financing channel for this challenge. This evaluation reviews the LDFA to inform the GEF-7 replenishment, drawing on terminal evaluations, portfolio reviews, and stakeholder interviews covering 485 projects through 2017.

The study finds that LDFA strategies remain relevant to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification guidance and country priorities.

They have contributed to higher vegetation productivity, greater carbon storage, and reduced forest loss, although restoration activities are still limited.

The portfolio has shifted toward integrated landscape approaches, with most projects now multifocal. This has broadened scope but made results harder to track and slowed implementation in some cases. Cofinancing averages 6.7 to 1, yet efficiency is reduced by long delays before impacts appear and uneven monitoring systems. Multistakeholder participation has been important for success, especially when income and livelihood gains encourage adoption of sustainable practices. At the same time, weak attention to climate risks constrains resilience.

The report recommends that the Council balance restoration and sustainable land management, integrate climate risk into project design, strengthen monitoring with geospatial indicators, and improve knowledge sharing to sustain long-term benefits.