PRIMER ON URBAN-RURAL LINKAGES AND LAND

Strong, sustainable, and resilient urban-rural linkages (URL) are crucial for achieving integrated territorial approaches to sustainable development. The Primer on Urban-Rural Linkages and Land provides actionable insights into strengthening these connections, addressing key challenges such as land degradation, climate change, and growing inequality.

Urban-rural linkages serve as lifelines connecting urban and rural communities but face critical issues that hinder progress. These include fragmented governance caused by uncoordinated policies across jurisdictions, inefficient infrastructure development that leads to resource overuse—particularly in peri-urban areas—and land degradation due to unsustainable practices, which disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as women, youth, and indigenous peoples.

To overcome these challenges, the Primer outlines actionable solutions:

  • Integrated Land Use Planning (ILUP): Designing and implementing sustainable policies to balance urban and rural needs.
  • Multilevel Governance Frameworks: Engaging local and national stakeholders for effective resource allocation and territorial planning.
  • Nature-Based Solutions: Promoting green and blue infrastructure to support land restoration and ecosystem resilience.
  • Social and Solidarity Economies (SSE): Encouraging inclusive economic models to address socioeconomic disparities.

The Primer highlights three key messages:

  1. Resilience and Sustainability: Strengthening URL enhances the health and productivity of land assets.
  2. Partnerships and Collaboration: Partnerships, like that between UNCCD and UN-Habitat, demonstrate the value of joint efforts.
  3. Achieving SDG 15.3: Reaching land degradation neutrality requires coordinated, multi-actor approaches and innovative tools.

For further exploration, resources like UN-Habitat’s Urban-Rural Linkages Toolkit and UNCCD’s Land Degradation Neutrality Guidelines offer deeper insights.

To align with best practices, the Primer also emphasizes the importance of accessible content. All images should include descriptive alt attributes, such as “Urban-Rural Linkages and Sustainable Land Use,” to improve accessibility.

By adopting integrated approaches and fostering multilevel governance, the Primer underscores how stakeholders can achieve meaningful progress toward SDG 15.3. This publication serves as a critical guide for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient land management strategies.

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  • File Size 10.02 MB
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  • Date published 6 December 2024
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