With an estimated 2.8 million hectares of forests lost each year, deforestation and land degradation remain significant challenges for Africa. Bringing together diverse public and private sector voices, alongside indigenous groups, scientists and youth activists, the 2018 Global Landscapes Forum…

Caux, Switzerland – This year, the main focus of Caux Dialogue on Land and Security (CDLS) has been on using land restoration for conflict resolution, with the UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary Mr. Pradeep Monga moderating round table discussions on migration and financing for ecosystem restoration…

Ecuadorian Environment Minister Tarsicio Granizo speaks during an interview with IPS in his office in Quito. Credit: Nina Zambrano/IPS Ela Zambrano interviews TARSICIO GRANIZO, Ecuador’s minister of Environment ** En Espangol QUITO, Jul 20 2018 (IPS) - Ecuador has decided to move towards a…

Bogota, Colombia – The UNCCD regional coordination unit for Latin America and the Caribbean (RCU-LAC) participated in the regional workshop organized by FAO Global Soils Partnership on 9 July 2018 to discuss the development of national and regional capacity in organizing soil information for policy…

Konya/Eregli/Mersin, Turkey – An international training on combating desertification and soil erosion for Central Asian and Balkan countries took place on 11-16 July, 2018, bringing together experts and participants from various institutions, organizations and NGOs. Workshop sessions focused on…

New York, United States – During the High Level Political Forum on sustainable development, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the UNCCD and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to highlight the crucial role of affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for sound land management and…

Beijing, China – Land degradation is a serious threat to the stability of communities and nations, and to peace and security throughout the international community. Land degradation neutrality (LDN), which is SDG Target 15.3 of SDG 15 Life on Land, is both an integrator and an accelerator of the…

The 3S Initiative – for Sustainability, Stability and Security in Africa – is an inter-governmental initiative helping to transform the narrative and unlock Africa’s potential. Countries participating in the 3S Initiative believe that social inclusion can be achieved hand-in-hand with environmental…

New York, United States – During the most recent drought in East and Southern Africa in 2016, an estimated 17.6 million and 41 million people in these regions respectively, needed assistance. It was the worst drought in Southern Africa in 35 years. Projections that future droughts will increase in…

Bonn, Germany – The 2018WDCD campaign "Land has true value. Invest in it" ran from 1-30 June, 2018 to raise awareness of the impact that our everyday choices can have on land resources and the role that wise investments in land, such as bio-economy, can play in shaping our future. The campaign's…

Doha, Qatar – The first national workshop on combating desertification and land degradation, organized by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) and the UNCCD, took place on 1–4 July 2018, attracting a lot of media attention and bringing together technical experts, representatives of…

Muscat, Oman – A national workshop, organized by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) took place on 25-28 June 2018, bringing together participants from the ministries of agriculture and planning, the national statistics office (NSO), as well as the academia to discuss UNCCD…

This July is the first time the United Nations will review the progress made towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 15, which is about Life on Land. Healthy and productive land is important in the achievement of many of the SDG goals and targets – poverty reduction, food security, gender…

Seoul, Republic of Korea – The First Global Land Degradation Neutrality Forum, organized by the Government of Republic of Korea in partnership with UNCCD, took place from 4 to 5 July 2018 to discuss experience in strengthening global partnerships to support achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN…

The global celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) took place on Thursday, 15 June 2017 at the Centre des Conférences de Ouaga 2000, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Over 400 international and local participants attended the ceremony with eminent personalities that included…

The LDN Fund Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) define the framework upon which all projects that will be financed by the Fund must adhere to. The ESS will be integrated into the investment policy of the LDN, and the Fund Manager will have responsibility for conducting a detailed E&S…

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Send us your World Day celebration to WDCD2017 [at] unccd.int and we will post it on this page! Shortcuts: Africa Asia/Pacific Europe LAC Other Africa Benin AMAF-BENIN plans to celebrate the day in connection with the reforestation of degraded areas…

Khon Kaen, Thailand – The 2018 World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) National Campaign, co-sponsored by the Land Development Department (LDD), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and Thailand Soil Commission took place on 28-29 June 2018 to raise citizens' awareness on land degradation and…

The use of this web site constitutes agreement with the following terms and conditions: The United Nations secretariat to the Convention to Combat Desertification ("UNCCD secretariat") maintains thisweb site (the "Site") as a courtesy to those who may choose to access the Site ("Users"). The…

The first online course on gender and land degradation was launched last week at the 6th Global Environment Fund (GEF) Assembly in Da Nang, Vietnam. The land degradation module is part of a five-module course on gender and environment, with a focus on the multilateral environmental agreements GEF…

The High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development will meet from Monday, 9 July, to Wednesday, 18 July 2018 in New York under the theme "Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies" and will include numerous panels and roundtables to review the progress on the SDGs. In…

Da Nang, Viet Nam – The sixth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) gathered on 27 June, 2018 to identify key environmental challenges, formulate effective solutions, evaluate the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms and propose inter-regional and interdisciplinary projects…

Bonn, Germany – How will the use and condition of land change worldwide over the next few decades? What drives those changes, and what will be the effects on agriculture, water, climate and biodiversity? How will they influence the challenge to achieve global sustainability ambitions? Which regions…

Sixty researchers from eight European countries – Spain, Italy, Holland, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary and Finland – will be working together with companies and farmers for the next four years to develop a viable agricultural model as a environmentally and economically beneficial and…

Bonn, Germany – UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace now features a collection of specialized material to support the 2017-2018 Reporting Process, including an e-course, which contains numerous tips and training videos. The course has been developed to ensure that all reporting entities clearly…