Where is deforestation worsening around the world? It’s a difficult question to answer, as many forest assessments are often years or even a decade out of date by the time they’re published. But we’re getting there, thanks to better data and advanced computing power. A new study by Global Forest…

The Global Soil Partnership (GSP) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) are coordinating efforts to launch the first Global Soil Organic Carbon Map during World Soil Day celebrations on 5…

A study of the impact of irregular migration on ODA in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and EU institutions Increasingly high numbers of refugees and migrants have come to Europe over the past five years seeking protection. Beyond hosting and providing assistance to new arrivals, the…

The migratory pressures on Europe’s borders present the EU with an enormous challenge to get its act together. While the objectives and mandates of internal and external security actors increasingly overlap, these actors often still live in separated worlds. This Policy Brief analyses how the EU’s…

The Atlas of Vulnerability and Resilience is an overview on studies on different aspects of vulnerability and resilience relevant in the field of civil protection / contingencies and disaster risk management.

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary research collaboration between academic institutions and practitioners across the world. It follows on from the work of the 2015 Lancet Commission, which concluded that the response to climate…

By unsustainably exploiting nature's resources, human civilisation has flourished but now risks substantial health effects from the degradation of nature's life support systems in the future. Health effects from changes to the environment including climatic change, ocean acidification, land…

From threats of famine in Somalia caused by drought, to hunger in Syria caused by war, the development community is increasingly faced with the enormous challenge of addressing global food insecurity and political instability around the world, especially in fragile states. A new report, “Recurring…

FAO is helping to reorient food and agricultural systems in countries most exposed to climate risks, with a clear focus on supporting smallholders. This booklet provides a summary of FAO’s holistic approach to the adaptation of agriculture.

The latest issue of Land Degradation & Development is available on Wiley Online Library

Soils have been the neglected environmental media for a long time. However, several food crises at the beginning of this century have brought a change in perspective of late. Since then, the indispensable value of soils for humans and for the conservation of the environment as a whole has been…

This contribution traces the history of environmental rights over the past few decades, focusing on international and regional human rights instruments, as well as case law. It does so in the context of the environmental principles associated with environmental rights. It explores the meaning of a…