The interrelations of human beings with ecosystems experience rising importance in sustainable land use planning and lead to the concept of socio-ecological system. Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) include both, a bio-geo-physical component and the related local to regional actors. Their system…

Droughts of the twenty-first century are characterized by hotter temperatures, longer duration, and greater spatial extent, and are increasingly exacerbated by human demands for water. This situation increases the vulnerability of ecosystems to drought, including a rise in drought-driven tree…

Even though ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is recognised to hold considerable potential to strengthen climate adaption, it is still yet to be fully mainstreamed into development policy and practice. Valuation can provide convincing – and usually much-needed – evidence of the benefits of investing…

Help countries to compile better data and increase transparency – Google partnership

Spotlights inequalities and challenges faced by women; identifies gaps and opportunities for gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The new UNCCD reporting process has been launched. To accommodate the highly technical nature of the new reporting process and enhance national capacity to generate, analyze, interpret and use Earth observation data, UNCCD has developed a series of online tutorials on how to use the available…

Using the framework of the National Adaptation Plans (NAP)process, this brief provides an overview of the key issues to consider and main entry points for gender mainstreaming in the development of NAPs for the agriculture sectors.

Trends.Earth (formerly the Land Degradation Monitoring Toolbox) is a platform for monitoring land change using earth observations in an innovative desktop and cloud-based system. The three sub-indicators for monitoring achievement of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN, Sustainable Development Goal…

Investing in agriculture is widely recognised as one of the most effective ways to alleviate poverty, improve food security and reduce hunger and malnutrition. Paradoxically, both overseas development aid and domestic investment in agriculture have been declining since the 1990s. The total share of…

Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) are extreme meteorological phenomena that generate significant amounts of airborne mineral dust particles. SDS play a significant role in different aspects of weather, climate and atmospheric chemistry and represent a serious hazard for life, health, property, environment…

Drought is a complex and recurring natural disaster that occurs throughout the world and often has negative impacts on many sectors of society. Drought monitoring is challenging given the complex spatio-temporal dimensions of drought and its severity. Traditionally, drought monitoring has relied…

This publication provides facts, figures and key messages to encourage more investments in forest and landscape restoration, leading to more restoration action. The GPFLR outlines how we can reach the 2020 and 2030 targets, and how we can best collaborate, using regional and global platforms. The…

Without dramatic reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, most of the planet's land-based ecosystems -- from its forests and grasslands to the deserts and tundra -- are at high risk of 'major transformation' due to climate change.

We live in an urbanizing world. Since 2008, more than half of humanity lives in cities, both large and small, and old and new. We also live in a world that is becoming even more urbanized, it is expected that by 2050, 66 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities [1]. The process of…

Land and other natural resources in many developing countries remain a fundamental part of people’s cultural identity, social relations, livelihood strategies and economic well-being. However, great setbacks are still experienced in terms of tenure security, natural resources governance and…

The OECD Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is a cross-country measure of discrimination against women in social institutions (formal and informal laws, social norms, and practices) across 180 countries. Discriminatory social institutions intersect across all stages of…

Tef (Eragrostis tef), an important crop for both income and nutrition in Ethiopia, has joined the list of ICRISAT’s research crops.

The journey Life on Land as organised by IUCN and the UNCCD secretariats at the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii, 2016, consisted of a series of events capturing diverse interpretations of land and how land issues are addressed by the conservation and development communities.

"Supporting regional cooperation and integration in Africa- What works and why?" A new study by Fredrik Soderbaum and Therese Brolin looks at “What works and why?” in supporting regional cooperation and integration in Africa. Quoting several papers by ECDPM, the study recommends donors to expand…

The Sixth Global Forum on Gender Statistics discussed ways to improve the collection, production, dissemination and use of data on gender to support progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls). The UN Statistics…

Land and soil are limited natural resources essential to all human life. One of the major environmental challenges facing Europe is an increasing demand for development, which threatens these ecosystem services, such as water recycling and purification, carbon storage, and food and fuel — as well as…

Genetic diversity a hidden tool in coping with climate change (FAO). Knowledge of agricultural genetic resources needs to grow more quickly because of the critical role they have to play in feeding the world as climate change advances faster than expected.(January 19th 2015)

Synthesis Report on Experiences with Ecosystem-based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction,’ includes findings from a CBD technical workshop on ecosystem-based approaches to climate change adaptation (EbA) and to disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR), which was held in…

This publication is a collection of articles written by economists, sociologists, and gender specialists and practitioners from twelve post-Soviet countries in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. It is unique in its effort to review and analyze the issues that are at the intersection of…

FAO recognizes the potential of rural women and men in achieving food security and nutrition and is committed to overcoming gender inequality, in line with the pledge to “leave no one behind”, which is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. The publication…