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The Latin America and Caribbean region has the world's largest reserves
of arable land with an estimated 576 million ha equal to almost 30 per
cent of the total territory (Gómez and Gallopín 1995). The region also
contains 16 per cent of the world total of 1 900 million ha of degraded
land, taking third place behind Asia and the Pacific and Africa (UNEP
2000).
Priority issues in the region include: loss of agricultural area (caused
by factors such as erosion, changes in agricultural practices and growing
urbanization); land degradation (associated with compaction, leaching
of nutrients and pollution); and land tenure (covering inadequate and
inequitable distribution of land as well as lack of tenure rights).
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