Soil erosion costs European countries €1.25 billion in annual agricultural productivity loss and €155 million in the gross domestic product (GDP) loss, according to a JRC new study. Soil erosion is the biggest threat to soil fertility and productivity, but the consequences do not stop there. A…

Soils are a double-edged climate sword. They are huge reservoirs of organic carbon and can act as a carbon sink. But they can also release CO2 into the atmosphere when used unsustainably. Forests are often called the lungs of the planet because of the way they "breathe" in carbon dioxide. The role…

WOCATpedia.net is a wiki based knowledge platform related to the WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Technologies and Approaches) network. This wiki focuses, similar as the WOCAT network, on issues related to Sustainable Land Management (SLM), as e.g. Food Security, Economics of Sustainable Land…

The negative impact of a lack of plant functional diversity on ecosystems is well-documented, and can be seen in action in most dryland ecosystems. However, the indirect effects of biotic interactions – activities of certain living organisms that can impact the survival of others – are still unknown…

Land, air and water are the cornerstones of life on Earth. To sustain the vitality of our global ecosystem, we must understand the health of our natural assets and how to halt and repair damage done to them. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)…

The goal of the project is to reduce food insecurity and improve livelihoods of poor people living in African drylands by restoring degraded land, and returning it to effective and sustainable tree, crop and livestock production, thereby increasing land profitability and landscape and livelihood…

Soil sealing for urban and infrastructure development constitutes the most intense form of land degradation and affects all ecosystem services. Researchers and policy makers have become aware of this fact and call for limiting development and compensating for new soil sealing with unsealing measures…

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are the most commonly known, used, and globally widespread, environmental planning and management tools, with Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) also gaining increasing momentum over the last decade. The objective of these tools is to make sure that…

The Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region will be held on Thursday, 1 March, and Friday, 2 March 2018, at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG). About: The Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD) follows up on and reviews the implementation of the 2030…

Monitoring SDG 15 in an EU context focuses on progress made in improving the status of ecosystems, in decelerating land degradation and in preserving biodiversity.

Biodiversity is vanishing at an alarming rate across most of the world, find the most comprehensive assessments of global ecosystem health to be done in decades. The five reports, published in the past week, are the culmination of three years’ work by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on…

RESEARCH ARTICLES The sheep in wolf‘s clothing? Recognizing threats for land degradation in Iceland using state-and-transition models I.C. Barrio, D.S. Hik, J. Thórsson, K. Svavarsdóttir, B. Marteinsdóttir and I.S. Jónsdóttir Accepted manuscript online: 20 APR 2018 12:00AM EST | DOI: 10.1002/ldr…

Where in the world will people’s lives be affected by water issues by the year 2050? What is the impact of the growing global population, further urbanisation and climate change on these water risks, the food supply and migration? This new report by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment…

The GEO regional assessments provide detailed analysis of regional environmental challenges as well as key findings and policy messages for each of the 6 UNEP regions. These are important for policy makers working in the regions to provide solid evidence and policy options which will help tackle…

The GEO 6 regional assessment recognizes Africa’s rich natural capital - the diversity of soil, geology, biodiversity, water,landscapes and habitats- which if wisely managed, hold the promise to lead the region to a future where ecosystem integrity,as well as human health and well-being are…