Romario Valentine lives in Umhlanga, Durban and, like many boys his age, loves swimming, running and hockey, and dreams of being a sportsman. Unlike most children his age, however, Romario has done more than 166 beach clean-ups over the last four years and is an ambassador for several environmental…

Conflict, COVID-19, climate crisis likely to drive higher levels of acute food insecurity in 23 hunger hotspots – new report. Efforts to fight a global surge in acute food insecurity are being stymied in several countries by fighting and blockades that cut off life-saving aid to families on the…

This report presents a synthesis of published and ongoing research by REACH which explores the relationship between water security, climate and climate adaptation decisions, drawing on findings from REACH research conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

At its first session, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) requested the United Nations System produce such a report on the state of the world’s indigenous peoples (SOWIP).

Climate change and extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food, water and energy security and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. The impacts span the entire region, including Andean peaks, mighty river basins and low-lying islands, according to a new report from…

Seizing the landscape opportunity to catalyse transformative biodiversity governance. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency latest analysis in support of the CBD post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework . This report is the result of a collaboration between PBL, The United Nations…

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. It recognizes the conservation and management of biological diversity is an integral part of the development process and is not simply a matter of protection. A revised and updated ten-year Strategic Plan…

‘The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI), utilizes data to generate new global evidence on how many children are currently exposed to underlying vulnerabilities and climate and environmental hazards, shocks and stresses. The resulting index…

This report presents the case for why we all must throw our weight behind a global restoration effort. Drawing on the latest scientific evidence, it explains the crucial role played by ecosystems from forests and farmland to rivers and oceans, and charts the losses that result from our poor…

Land restoration has the potential to deliver multiple environmental and societal benefits simultaneously, making it a highly integrated solution for sustainable development. This study quantifies the potential effects of land restoration for soil, food, water, biodiversity and climate change at the…

The 4 Returns Framework for landscape restoration that is presented here is a practical method that brings people together within landscapes and enables others outside those landscapes to participate. This approach has been tested for many years in several large landscapes and it is now time to…

Soil pollution may be invisible to the human eyes, but it compromises soil capacity to provide ecosystems services, including the production of safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Contaminants move through soil, air and water and enter into agri-food systems, affecting the environment and harming…

Land degradation has become one of the biggest environmental challenges human society is currently facing, which is why understanding the global pattern of this land crisis is absolutely necessary. However, so far, the multiple forms of this environmental issue have mainly been analysed in…

Recent research—published ahead of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on 17 June 2021—examines current and projected climate change impacts on water security across the world's drylands up to the year 2100

Jun. 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. A new report shows that climate change, overuse and conversion for agriculture, cities and infrastructure, which also drive drought and desertification, have already degraded one fifth of the planet’s land area.

Flood and drought disasters impose a huge toll: Over the last two decades, at least 1.65 billion people have been affected by floods and 1.43 billion by droughts. The economic costs have been staggering, and the social costs even higher as the poor and marginalized are disproportionately affected…

Land is the foundation of our societies. Productive land is a cornerstone to global food security and environmental health, zero hunger, poverty eradication, and energy for all. It underpins the success of the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. And yet this finite resource is under…

A newly released paper, SoilGrids 2.0: producing soil information for the globe with quantified spatial uncertainty, provides a peer-reviewed scientific publication describing the production of SoilGrids, ISRIC – World Soil Information’s flagship system for global digital soil mapping

The new UN report on youth and agriculture underscores the urgent need to make agri-food systems more appealing to young people to secure the future of global food security and nutrition. Promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems is a report by the Committee on World…

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook presents production, consumption, trade and price trends for the coming decade - Global agri-food systems need to transform to reach SDGs by 2030

This report—Connecting the Dots: Policy Innovations for Food Systems Transformation in Africa—draws on the experience and at times visionary leadership of four African countries: Ghana, Malawi, Morocco, and Rwanda. It focuses on their policy and institutional innovations, which have moved the needle…

The world is facing a triple emergency of climate change, nature loss, and rising poverty and inequality. These interdependent emergencies do not just represent three pressing challenges to humanity; they are interconnected in their causes and consequences, but therefore also in their solutions. As…

A World Bank-funded project supporting Ningxia in northwest China in combatting desertification. Through the restoration of vegetation and ecological protection measures, the project addressed desertification challenges in more than 32,000 hectares of degraded, protected road and rail infrastructure…

The G20 Ministers in charge of Energy and Climate met in Naples on July 23rd, 2021, and adopted – for the first time – a joint final communiqué, which gives momentum to the common mission of the G20 Countries to preserve the global climate and ensure a clean and inclusive energy transition.

Africa’s natural wealth underpins the continent’s current and future welfare. In addition to natural resources this wealth encompasses a broad range of benefits from nature to society. These ‘ecosystem services’ include clean water for growing cities, insect pollination for agriculture, medicinal…