In a recent review, FAO identified that 41 out of 54 countries in Africa included at least one policy or measure on more sustainable use of bioenergy in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). Considering the critical role of sustainable bioenergy in sub-Saharan Africa, FAO’s…

Twenty-seven policy briefs were authored for the Global Preparatory Meeting for Review of SDG 7. IRENA released two reports, on renewable energy market analysis for Southeast Asia and prospects for the EU. A joint report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Facebook looks at options for bridging the…

A study just published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Nature Climate Change shows that soils can be a net sink of greenhouse gases through increased storage of organic carbon.

The concept of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) is distinct from, and more complex than, a conventional heritage site or protected area/landscape. A GIAHS is a living, evolving system of human communities in an intricate relationship with their territory, cultural or…

This infographic shows the interactions and key questions around the relationship triangle of water, energy and food security, like: What are energy efficient water-treatment technologies? How does watershed management help hydropower? What technologies make irrigation more water efficient? et al.

The cultivation of bioenergy plants at fertile, arable lands increasingly results in new land use conflicts with food production and cannot be considered as sustainable, therefore. Marginal lands have been frequently considered as potential alternative for producing bioenergy from biomass. However,…

In March this year, an unusual sand and dust storm nicknamed ‘Mars on Earth or Orange Snow[1]’ transported and deposited dust that transformed European landscapes into a surreal orange-tinted scenery. An even more drastic dust storm swept over India recently and left behind a trail of casualties.[2]…

The LDN Country Profiles provide evidence-based arguments that contribute to making the case for investing in measures to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation. These profiles demonstrate the importance and multiple benefits of taking actions to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. The country…

Representing nearly 41% of the land above sea level, arid zones are home to more than two billion people who suffer from the ongoing degradation of the land and soil that provide them sustenance. Owing to desertification and droughts, nearly twelve million hectares of land are no longer arable each…

The GIZ programme 'Soil protection and rehabilitation for food security', in collaboration with University of Leeds and ICRISAT has developed the new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) 'Land Matters! Integrating soil degradation concerns and solutions into policy processes'. The registration for the…

This paper examines the development of the scientific basis for LDN and how the team of global scientific experts in neutrality approaches worked in parallel with the teams who were conducting training events to launch the LDN target setting programme (TSP).

Sustainable Energy for All’s Energizing Finance series is the first and only in-depth attempt to capture multiple years of data on investment for the two key areas of energy access: electrification and clean cooking. It focuses on public and private finance commitments in 20 developing countries –…

The path to a peaceful and secure future is paved with decisive actions against losing more productive land. Migration is often a last-resort option for those experiencing water shortages and crop failures.

GLOBALANDS project aims to identify promising existing land use policies and to develop possible governance tools towards a more resource efficient and sustainable global land use.

Ecological restoration and the mainstreaming of the concept of ecosystem services will be critical if global society is to move toward sustainability.

This article summarizes the relevant experiences garnered in “offsetting” regulatory schemes in the areas of wetland preservation, biodiversity, forestry, greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, real estate zoning, and conventional air pollution control. While many of these initiatives take place in…

This paper evaluates the feasibility of introducing a Land Degradation Neutral (LDN) scheme as an activity of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

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.

This research investigates the human impact on land-cover dynamics in arid agro-ecosystems. Using remote sensing and ancillary datasets combined with classification and regression tree (CART) models, we mapped land-cover class distributions over 22 years (1988–2009) to characterize agricultural…

Increasing affluence is often postulated as a main driver for the human footprint on biologically productive areas, identified among the main causes of biodiversity loss, but causal relationships are obscured by international trade.

Soil is a natural resource essential to human welfare by virtue of its numerous crucial functions.

Deserts may be difficult to define, but they play an active role in the evolution of our global climate and society at large, and their future is of the utmost importance.

Soil damage, climate change, water and energy availability are all challenges for farming.

"Europe is now generating four times more wind power and 70 times more solar power as in 2005. This is good news, but a clear, forward-looking investment strategy is also necessary across the fossil fuel power sector to meet our long-term challenge to cut CO2 emissions. Europe is committed to…

The EU-funded project INSPIRATION aims to develop a European research roadmap on sustainable land management practices. The agenda would help focus Europe's research, supporting policymaking on environmentally friendly, socially acceptable and economically affordable soil and land use management.