8 May, 2018 – Tel Aviv, Israel – Focusing on the challenges and opportunities for developing sustainable agricultural practices in the arid and semi-arid regions, UNCCD Executive Secretary Ms. Monique Barbut addressed the participants of Agritech Israel 2018, one of the world’s leading exhibitions…

Bonn, Germany/New York, United States, 16 November 2011 – The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Luc Gnacadja, has named Leila Lopes, Miss Universe 2011, as the Drylands Ambassador of the Convention. Drylands Ambassadors are appointed to take a…

New Delhi, India – During a national workshop co-hosted by UNCCD and the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change of India (MoEFCC) on 4–5 December 2018, policy makers, researchers and representatives of civil society organizations, intergovernmental organizations (CSOs) and the private…

A message from the UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw Earth Day 2021 has a starkly simple message: we must make 2021 a pivotal year in efforts to Restore our Earth and build back better from COVID-19. Building a climate resilient and net-zero world must go hand in hand with recovering from the…

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…

Mr. President Duque, Secretary General, Ministers, Friends and Colleagues Warmest greetings from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. We are at a critical point in the discussions on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Hence the timeliness of this meeting. Biodiversity and climate…

Bangkok, Thailand – The World Soil Day (WSD) celebration was held on 5 December 2018 under the theme “Be the Solution to Soil Pollution.” Over 800 participants gathered for the event jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative Land Development Department, Soil and Fertilizer…

New Delhi, India – During World Day to Combat Desertification celebrations, Mr. Prakash Javedkar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, officially launched the logo of the upcoming COP 14 that will take place on 2-13 September 2019. The minister expressed a warm welcome to the global…

The International congress on "Successful Transformation toward Land Degradation Neutrality: Future Perspective" will take place on 17–19 June, 2019 in Ankara, Turkey, marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of UNCCD. The forum will bring together senior scientists, academicians, experts, policy makers…

UNCCD joins the group of international observer organizations to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) – based on a recent GCF board decision. As a major source of climate finance, GCF offers many opportunities for UNCCD member countries to finance preparation and implementation of large scale transformative…

Bonn, Germany – The Executive Secretary of UNCCD Ms. Monique Barbut and the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Ms. Anne Larigauderie have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two organizations. The productive…

Bonn, Germany, 18 April 2013 – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) today signed an agreement to collaborate in the nuclear technologies to strengthen the assessment of soil erosion and monitor improvements over time. The…

What is Desertification and Drought Day? Desertification and Drought Day was officially declared by the UN General Assembly as “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" (The resolution A/RES/49/115). The objectives of Desertification and Drought Day are: To promote public awareness of the…

Bonn, Germany – The Global Mechanism (GM) of UNCCD participated in the Global Landscapes Forum on 2 December 2018 to discuss how the convention is working with 120 countries that are establishing targets to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030. While the countries are undertaking the…

The Group on Earth Observation Land Degradation Neutrality (GEO-LDN) Initiative announced the winner of its international technology innovation competition on the development of tools to support land use planning for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). The team that presented the “LUP4LDN”(Land Use…

Volume 4 in a series titled “A Better World”, the book sub-titled “Life on Land” is published for the United Nations by UK publisher, Tudor Rose. “Life on Land” is about Sustainable Development Goal 15, and target 15.3 more specifically, which is about achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)…

The Thematic Scientific Conference of the International Geographic Union (IGU) “Practical Geography and XXI Century Challenges” dedicated to the Centennial of the Institute of Geography of Russian Academy of Sciences will take place on 4-6 June 2018 in Moscow, Russian Federation. The conference will…

Bonn, Germany – 26 experts, including scientists and policy-makers from every region, as well as the representatives of the global observer organizations, gathered on 10-12 October for the eighth meeting of the UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI). The meeting objectives included defining outlines…

Bonn, Germany, 14 October 2013 – His Excellency Pedro Pires, former President of Cape Verde, has accepted his designation as UNCCD Drylands Ambassador. “Sustainable Land Management, particularly the fight against desertification, land degradation and drought are major priorities for Africa,” Pires…

For centuries, we have used nature to live. As results: Nearly one million species are at risk of extinction. Nearly three quarters of the Earth's ice-free land has been transformed to meet human demands for food, raw materials, and homes. If humans continue to emit greenhouse gases at current rates…

​On 16 October of each year, the United Nations bodies commemorate this day as World Food Day to remind us that no one should be in hunger. The life of humans depends on land. Unprecedented rates of degraded land and ecosystem loss will bring unwanted consequences such as hunger, forced migration…

When land degradation happens in the world's drylands, it often creates desert-like conditions. Drylands are home to more than 2.1 billion people (2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment); for every three people, one calls drylands home, and growth rates in these areas are faster than in any other…