​New York, United States, 11 October 2010 – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has re-appointed Mr Luc Gnacadja as the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification for another three year-term, with effect from 1 October 2010. “It is indeed a privilege granted to me and a…

Seoul, Korea, 7 November 2010 – In concurrence with the G20 Seoul Summit, the international editorial cartoon exhibition “SAVE THE EARTH” will be held in Seoul from 7-14 November. A preview will take place at Artium, in COEX, on 7 November at 5 pm. The official launch, composed by a press conference…

Governments and international organizations to address the challenges of desertification and biodiversity loss in the region Bonn, Germany/Rome, Italy, 3 June 2011 – Over 100 scientists, and representatives of government, international and civil society organizations from around the world will…

Bonn, Germany, 17 June 2011 – “Yesterday, the ‘First Africa Drylands Week’ ended with a simple, yet new, message: the drylands are areas with great potential for the development and sustainable growth of its populations and nations. We must translate this into reality in economic terms with regard…

Geneva, Switzerland/Bonn, Germany, 1 August 2011 – The latest famine in Somalia has put a spotlight on the urgent need to develop national and regional drought policies, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which are jointly…

Bonn, Germany, 13 September 2011 – Speaking at a Press Briefing in Bonn ahead of the special UN High-level meeting in New York on 20 September, UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja said world leaders must put a cap on land degradation. He said every year some 12 million hectares of land are…

More than two billion people are affected by desertification, which leads to poverty, drought, famine, demographic pressures New York, United States, 19 September 2011 – The United Nations will convene a high-level meeting on Tuesday, 20 September to focus on actions to protect the drylands, home to…

New York, USA, 22 September 2011 – A historic United Nations General Assembly meeting on desertification and drought, the first times heads of state and government have met to discuss the issue, concluded in New York yesterday. Closing the high-level meeting attended by over 100 heads of state and…

UNCCD first major UN conference to be eco-friendly through a partnership with the Gyeongnam Provincial Government and SK TelecomChangwon, Republic of Korea, 17 October 2011 – In an effort to bring state of the art service provision to parties and reduce overall environmental impact, conference…

Private sector involvement in sustainable land management vital to ensuring future of productive lands around the worldChangwon, Republic of Korea, 19 October 2011 – Nearly 100 business leaders have declared their support to combat land degradation and restore productive lands during the tenth…

​Award announced to recognise significant and innovative contributions to reversing land desertification, land degradation and droughtChangwon, Republic of Korea, 19 October 2011 – Seeking to promote efforts for sustainable land management, the Land for Life Award was launched at the tenth session…

​Private sector involvement in sustainable land management vital to ensuring future of productive lands around the world Changwon, Republic of Korea, 19 October 2011 - Nearly 100 business leaders have declared their support to combat land degradation and restore productive lands during the tenth…

Changwon City, Republic of Korea, 22 October 2011 – "This session will be remembered as the session that has brought a lot of innovation both in the actions proposed and the way parties interact among themselves. We have brought together the pieces that will enable the engine called science to move…

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…

Bonn, Germany, 20 December 2011 – The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has recently announced the Land for Life Award, with a fund of up to 100,000 USD, to recognize excellence in sustainable land management, particularly efforts that promote the natural health and…

Bonn, Germany, 17 February 2012 – The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) announced the theme for the 2012 World Day to Combat Desertification, which will be celebrated on 17 June all over the world. UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja presented the slogan for the 2012…

Chifeng, China/Bonn, Germany, 23 May 2012 – The international community needs to agree on a sustainable development goal with a measurable target of achieving zero net land degradation by 2030. Such a bold decision would enhance efforts in all regions of the world to restore degraded land and…

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13 June 2012 – At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the secretariats of the biodiversity, climate change and desertification conventions and the Global Environment Facility are joining forces under the Rio Conventions Pavilion to promote…

Doha, Qatar, 4 December 2012 – Three civil society organizations, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) from Haiti, Conservation Efforts for Community Development (CECOD) from Uganda and the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion (TEMA) of Turkey took home international…

Geneva, Switzerland, 15 March 2013 – A top-level United Nations conference has, for the first time, laid the foundations for practical and proactive national drought policies to increase resilience to the world’s most destructive natural hazard, which is being aggravated by climate change. The High…

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…

Bonn, Germany, 6 May 2013 – The secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is pleased to announce the 16 semi-finalists of this year’s Land for Life Award. The semi-finalists are from 13 countries - Australia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya…

Top sustainable land management prize totaling USD 100,000 goes to development organizations in India, Mexico and Australia Ghent, Belgium, 17 June 2013 – For the second year running, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced the winners of the 2013 Land for Life…

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…