Biodiversity , forests and land degradation : Land-use change is a major threat for biodiversity and an avoidable source of greenhouse gas emissions ; continuous land-use changes are in turn driven by land degradation . There must therefore be recognition at the next Conference of the Parties in 2009 ( COP 9 ) that investment in SLM is a prerequisite to achieving both biodiversity targets and forest protection while at the same time contributing to the mitigation of climate change .