In our first SDG Spotlight of 2025 we break down SDG #15 – Life on Land. It’s pretty obvious how land, environment and agriculture relate to each other, however, we do have the opportunity to look a little deeper. Sometimes those things that feel the most obvious can be those that fall to the wayside.
We take a look at what this SDG is about, and the state of Life on Land in the New Zealand context. This leads to a look at how this SDG relates to agriculture where we will go a bit further in how we can choose to view our connection with agriculture and the environment.
Farmers are doing great work to progress towards this goal, and we end with some suggestions of where you can look to focus efforts in your farming business towards different parts of this SDG.
What is SDG #15 about?
SDG #15, and its associated goals, seeks to:
- protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,
- sustainably manage forests,
- combat desertification,
- halt and reverse land degradation, and
- halt biodiversity loss.
The broad nature of this goal, and what it aims to achieve, is a direct reflection of the complexity and intricacies of the natural world. It also highlights that in order to having thriving ecosystems and landscapes, that it isn’t about ‘one solution’ or ‘one focus’ – it is about viewing the environment as a system and seeking to have a positive impact on all parts of that system.
New Zealand's Life on Land
The Ministry for the Environment’s ‘Our Land 2024′ report starts with a simple, but powerful, statement: the health of our land underpins our lives and livelihoods.
Our land, and its associated ecosystems, is impacted by many pressures such as land use, climate change and extreme weather events, pests and invasive species, as well as pollution. These pressures, and how they are avoided, mitigated or managed, have a key influence on the resilience and health of our environment.
In New Zealand, our land and environment has felt the impact of these pressures over time and has resulted in the following:
While there are pressures on the land and environment that have resulted in the state of where things are at today, there are also many ways in which we can act, and are, to reduce pressures and impact. We are not only able to reduce the impact by alleviating pressure, but we can also turn the dial in the direction of restoration.
Reducing pressures may help to manage impacts that are already occurring, and even dampen their intensity, however, including a focus of prevention, restoration, conservation, and enhancement ensures that our attention is also focused on resilience for the future, not just right now.
Why is SDG #15 important for Agriculture?
It may feel obvious as to why SDG #15 is important for agriculture – because the land is at the centre of all we do. However, let’s dig a little deeper.
We are very used to looking at land within the confines of a property boundary. ‘My land’ is that within my boundary fences. While the land within the boundary fence may be the area you can have a direct influence on, the land and ecosystems out of that boundary are also critical. We see ourselves as guardians and stewards of our land and our farms, but as farmers we must also see ourselves as guardians of the entire landscape. The complex network of farming operations over vast areas is directly intertwined with ecosystems related to soil, biodiversity, freshwater, and much more. The ability for ecosystem services to thrive, not only to support a healthy environment but to also support human survival and resilience, is inherently reliant on us to look beyond the property boundary.
The environment is a complex collective of animals, microbes, soil, water, air, plants, and fungi – just to name a few. Likewise, the agricultural sector is a complex collective of farming operations that run different stock classes, crops and pastures, farming practices, business models, and so on. The connection between environment and the agricultural sector is therefore the combination of two complex collectives that look to round out the whole picture.
So why is SDG #15 so important for agriculture?
Because successful farming is dependent on the ability for the complexities of our environment to be able to thrive. The environment doesn’t need agriculture, but agriculture 100% needs the environment. Managing the complexities of how agriculture and environment interact has to be something that is actively planned for, monitored, and continued to be pursued, now and into the future.
How can we continue to incorporate SDG #15 into our farming businesses?
There are many ways in which farmers are already incorporating SDG #15 into their farming businesses, which makes total sense when the whole industry is in deep connection with the environment, right!?
That said, there is always the opportunity to reflect, learn, work together, try new things, or explore new ideas. So what are some of the ways farmers are doing this, or can explore, on farm?
Catchment groups and discussion groups
The continuation of discussion groups, and the establishment of catchment groups, has provided ways for farmers to look beyond their farm boundary. The ability to see, discuss, share, and connect is something that can have a great impact on our efforts towards SDG #15. By working with, and learning from, others we are able to focus on the collective nature of agriculture. The reality is that for our aspirations for our land and environment to become reality, we need to have strong community connections and a wider vision of what being a guardian of our landscape looks like as a community in a given area.
Getting involved with opportunities to be part of these sorts of groups presents many opportunities, and is well worth being part of.
Soil
Soil is one of our most valuable resources on farm, and it is awesome to see the rise in appetite to learn more about our soils and how they relate to our farm systems.
There are many opportunities to create impact in this space, however, I think that there are three key components to how one could approach this:
- Learning
- Seeking new knowledge, being open to new ways of understanding, and being active in your intent to continue on a journey of learning more about soil and your farm is a great first step, but it is also a step that is continuous and never finished.
- Application
- Have a try! For you it may be digging some holes and getting to know your soil better by getting your hands in it, or it may be exploring how you could optimise parts of your farm system by incorporating your knowledge of the soil. There are many opportunities. It needn’t be big, but trying new things can be a great way to learn more about soil and your farm system.
- Monitoring
- Undertaking Visual Soil Assessments are something everyone can have a go at on farm. These provide a great way to monitor your soils, their health and more.
Biodiversity
Sheep and beef farms contain 25% of the total remaining native vegetation in New Zealand (Norton and Pannell, 2018). This is the second highest portion of remaining vegetation, second only to public conservation land.
Farming environments are important guardians of what remains, but are also great potential supporters of regeneration and conservation.
A great place to start on your biodiversity journey is learning about the plants that grow in your area. Many catchment groups provide opportunities for the community to learn about native plant propagation. Getting insight into what already grows in your area provides a great stepping stone to focus on what type of biodiversity you can look to incorporate on farm.
Focusing on planting of riparian areas also provides a great way to focus on increasing biodiversity, while also having other positive benefits for freshwater.
Freshwater
The connection of farming systems and the freshwater environment is an important one. We often think of freshwater as flowing rivers and streams, however it is important to be aware that it also includes our groundwater and what happens below the soil surface.
A great place to focus on when it comes to freshwater is looking to understand the interactions between your farm environment and your farming systems. Identifying where there may be areas of risk or vulnerability, and looking to manage that risk is a valuable exercise to undertake.
Integrated Farm Planning
A core part of looking to prioritise impact towards SDG #15 is having a plan. Planning is more than the production of a fancy report – it:
- provides a way to get thoughts out onto ‘paper’, allowing for the knowledge, thoughts and vision to be communicated and archived,
- allows for effective record-keeping over time and provides a sound point of reference for future reflection and decision making,
- allows us to ‘zoom out’ and look at the bigger picture, while also allowing us to ‘zoom in’ into specifics,
- aids in developing a core understanding of the interactions between environment, farm system and business – hitting the 3 P’s of people, planet and profit,
- aids in having effective records for succession planning, farm assurance and auditing, communicating with rural professionals about your farm, etc.,
- provides the opportunity to work ‘on your business’, rather than ‘in your business’ – both of which are important to prioritise,
- and much more!
Farm planning is a process and journey. We consider it to be a ‘live document’ that evolves over time with you and your business. There are many resources available to assist with this, as well as advisors who can provide support as you go along your farm planning journey.
