The UNCCD’s Virtual Reality (VR) film, Growing a World Wonder, has been awarded ‘Best Documentary’ at the Screen4All 360 Film Festival in Paris. An international Jury, headed by the actress Julie Gayet, selected the film from a final shortlist of 18 other submissions and hundreds of original entries…

Statement by UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw This year International Women’s Day celebrates the theme ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’. After a year of unprecedented impacts from the pandemic, it’s clear that women globally have been disproportionately…

Dear UNCCD Focal Points and stakeholders, I am pleased that my first message as the UNCCD Executive Secretary to you is about a very festive occasion. 17 June 2019 will mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The day has been celebrated as the World Day to…

8 – 10 September 2017 The first-ever UNCCD Youth Forum with the theme “Land, Youth and Sustainability” during the recent 13th session Conference of Parties to UNCCD, in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China. On 8 September 2017, the Forum, which was attended by nearly 200 participants from 25 countries…

At COP25 in Madrid today, heads of UN agencies met for a high-level leadership dialogue on how to turn the tide on deforestation and committed to the common goal of helping countries reduce deforestation and improve forest management. According to the UN, up to 23 per cent of all greenhouse gas…

Land use change is the primary driver for emerging infectious diseases, and the rate of land conversion is accelerating. Moreover, the foundation for building back better in the face of climate change and the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic will be centered upon future land-use decisions. The good…

The role of regions under the UNCCD Five world regions – Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Northern Mediterranean, Central and Eastern Europe - have the important job of deciding how to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Convention Text…

SEKEM, Egypt SEKEM, founded by Ibrahim Abouleish in 1977, has been adopting biodynamic agricultural methods to rehabilitate more than 2,000 hectares desert land in Egypt. SEKEM has successfully developed into a thriving agricultural business and was a world pioneer in developing organic cotton…

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…

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…

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…

​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…

The 3S Initiative – for Sustainability, Stability and Security in Africa – is an inter-governmental initiative helping to transform the narrative and unlock Africa’s potential. Countries participating in the 3S Initiative believe that social inclusion can be achieved hand-in-hand with environmental…

As the world enters the fourth month of the corona crisis, the new Bureau of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC) met online, with members dialing in from different corners of the world to represent five regional UNCCD annexes. The Bureau reviewed the CRIC work…

​There may be no greater issue than land in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our food, clothing and homes all come from land resources. In order to “leave no one behind” and develop sustainably as set forth in the new SDGs, achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) must be a top…

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…

13 September 2017 – Ordos, China – "…With the knowledge we are gaining, we will become better land and natural resource managers, because we’re understanding how we need to treat our land, and the plants and animals on it." These are the words of Rinouzeu Karizembi, one of only two women in the nine…

11 September 2017 – Hamburg, Germany/Ordos, China – The Future Policy Award (FPA) ceremony was held at the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD in Ordos, Inner Mongolia (China). The international “Oscar for best policies” honours laws and practices that successfully…

8 – 10 September 2017 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China Young people are an important force toward the development of a sustainable world. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) secretariat recognizes the important roles youth play in combating land degradation and promoting…

Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Future Council in Hamburg, Germany, to establish a framework of cooperation in the fight against desertification and land degradation…

Two key projects spearheaded by the UNCCD/GM in addressing desertification: the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund; and the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative (GGWSSI), were discussed during the meeting on the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change held…

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…

UNCCD Parties decided at COP13 that the secretariat should commission a study on “The role that measures taken to implement the Convention can play to address desertification, land degradation and drought as one of the drivers that cause migration.” The study will be presented at the UNCCD COP14 in…