Two-thirds of the African continent is desert or drylands. This land is vital for agriculture and food production, however nearly three-fourths of it is estimated to be degraded. The region is affected by frequent droughts, which have been particularly severe in recent years in the Horn of Africa…

Photo: UNCCD Knowledge Management Officer Mr. Jeroen van Dalen presents The Drought Toolbox delivered by UNCCD at the request of country parties New Delhi, India – “Drought is a major obstacle to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 15. We need to move faster in our fight against drought. Let us…

The Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) country profiles present evidence-based arguments that support investment in LDN by showcasing the importance and multiple benefits of taking actions to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation. The country profiles specifically highlight the role that land…

Arabic | Chinese | French | Russian | Spanish Desertification and Drought Day is celebrated every 17 June in every United Nations Member to keep the public informed about the state of the land, nationally and globally. Media are invited to cover the celebrations, among them: The High-Level Forum…

Delivering Land, Climate and Biodiversity Benefits at Scale UNCCD COP 13 provided the forum to explore opportunities for LDN transformative bold action. These are the highlights from the multiple discussions: Ministerial Round Table on "LDN: from targets to action, what will it take?" and launch of…

The new course that aims to provide better understanding of linkages between gender and environment is the result of a joint initiative led by the Global Environment Facility ( the GEF) and its Small Grants Programme (SGP) in collaboration with the GEF Gender Partnership and the United Nations…

23 March 2018 – For the second time, the city of Bonn welcomes the Global Festival of Action, serving as a testing ground for fresh ideas and daring ways to spread the message of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While SDGs provide a blueprint for a better world, in the words of Deputy Secretary…

Brussels, Belgium – UNCCD took part in the workshop organized by the European Commission (EC) on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) to increase synergies between EC partners and find ways to put land on the forefront of political agenda. UNCCD presented the 2018WDCD video…

This year UNCCD Science-Policy Interface member Dr. Rattan Lal has received the prestigious civilian Padma Shri Award from the Indian government for his revolutionary research in the field of soil science, which helped millions of smallholder farmers produce larger yields while taking better care of…

New Delhi, India – The Global Mechanism (GM) of the UNCCD has just released a report on the findings and recommendations from the technical data and policy analyses of its flagship Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Target Setting Programme. The report, “Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting…

The COVID-19 situation is still dire in many regions of the world as COVID-19 mutates. As most of you already know, we lost Mr. Philbert Brown, our National Focal Point in Jamaica. He was an ardent supporter of the Convention and one of our savviest negotiators and consensus builders. Allow me to…

The 2021 Desertification and Drought Day is coming up on 17 June, and we would love to hear what you are planning to mark the occasion! Please add a relevant activity to the interactive map below or send us an email DDD2021 [at] unccd.int so we can share your news on our website and social media. Your…

21 March 2018 – Ankara, Turkey – The Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs has embarked on the second “Mobilization for afforestation” campaign. 23 million households across Turkey will receive a letter signed by the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, asking the recipients to plant the seeds to…

The UNCCD participated the Structured Expert Dialogue of the UNFCCC second Periodic Review to help identify gaps and opportunities in the efforts to keep global warming in check below 1.5 degrees. Together with representatives of CBD and WHO they outlined the linkages between the work of their…

Forging a global partnership of committed stakeholders is the best way to secure our land's productivity and resilience, and to combat land degradation and desertification. UNCCD's motivated stakeholders are crucial to implementing the Convention and achieving a brighter, land-degradation neutral…

Bonn, 22 July 2020 – UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw announced today the appointment of Tina Birmpili of Greece as the next Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCCD. Ms. Birmpili will assume the position on 1 October 2020. She is currently serving as the Executive Secretary of the Vienna…

Mandate The permanent secretariat of the Convention was established in Article 23 of the UNCCD. It has been located in Bonn, Germany since January 1999. In line with Article 23 of the UNCCD, the key function of the secretariat is to service the sessions of the COP and its subsidiary bodies. This…

Budapest, Hungary – The Hungarian Meteorological Service and the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Center (DRMKC) of the European Commission organized an international training course on drought risk assessment on 6 – 8 November 2018 to discuss the increasing frequency, severity and intensity of…

LIVE stream The seventeenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), will be held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) from 28 to 30 January 2019 in Georgetown, Guyana. CRIC17…

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13 January 2012 – The United Nations has released the draft document that will be negotiated by governments and adopted by the heads of state and government during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 20-22 June 2012…