The deterioration of soil fertility, the loss of forest cover, and the erosion of rangelands reduce the ability of land to grow food, provide other products, and maintain the health of local ecosystems that support countless other species. Globally, land degradation adversely affects the ecological integrity and productivity of about 2 billon  ha, nearly one-quarter of all landscapes under human use. Land degradation is a worldwide challenge, substantially affecting productivity in more than 80 countries and especially serious in Africa where 36 countries including Ethiopia face dryland degradation or desertification. The impact of land degradation has already put at risk the livelihoods, economic wellbeing, and nutritional requirements of more than 1 billion people in the developing countries.
The GEF mandate was expanded in 2002 to include land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation, as a focal area  to support the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This has, therefore, made sustainable land management a major focus of the GEF.

The GEF’s programme on promoting sustainable land management focuses on integrated approaches to natural resources management, covering all the major rural land use system: agriculture, rangeland and forestry.

http://www.thegef.org/gef/GEF5_Strategies