World leaders and heads of major international agencies today pledged USD 4 billion over the next 5 years to step up implementation of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative. Over the next 10 years, more than 50 million hectares of land will be restored. This will help sequester an…

New York, 22 September 2019 – On the eve of the UN Climate Action Summit, global leaders from government, business and civil society are issuing an urgent call to action to grow an 8000km natural wonder of the world across the entire width of the African continent. The Great Green Wall, an African…

Changwon City, Republic of Korea, 18 October 2011 – They are marginal and marginalized. There are one billion of them and they struggle to subsist in the world's drylands. They are the poor the world forgot. Initially unveiled for consultation last year, the UNCCD/UNDP report, "The Forgotten Billion…

Changwon City, Republic of Korea, 11 October 2011 – The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Luc Gnacadja, has named Dennis Garrity, outgoing Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre, and South African gospel singer, Deborah Fraser as UNCCD…

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established in 1991 and unites 182 member governments — in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues. Today the GEF is the largest funder of projects to improve…

Ottawa, Ontario, June 17, 2016 – We welcome the joint statement by Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, on the World Day to Combat Desertification, announcing that Canada intends to re-sign the…

Canada Deposits its Instrument of Ratification to Re-Join the UNCCD Statement of Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD Yesterday, the Government of Canada communicated to the Secretary-General of the United Nations its accession to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification…

Kehkashan Basu and Patricia Kombo will discuss “The Power of Education and Youth Mobilization” What do you think are the best ways to mobilize the young generation? What incentives or knowledge are essential? Be part of the live discussion on our Facebook page!

Konya-Mersin, Turkey, ​23 August 2016 – Each year Turkey’s General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion organizes an International Training Course on Combating Desertification. This year, the training will take place from 23-27 August in Konya-Mersin for experts from Central Asia and…

In an unprecedented public action for a greener future, 650 000 trees have been planted across Azerbaijan on 6 December 2019. This environmental campaign took place at the initiative of Azerbaijan’s First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva to mark the 650 anniversary of the great Azerbaijani poet and…

Biodiversity is our life insurance, but it is under threat. The COVID19 crisis has dramatically changed our lives; and it has also brought to the forefront the crucial need to better preserve biodiversity. Our lives and economies rely on nature. France, together with the United Nations and the World…