The Award recognizes excellence and innovation in efforts towards a land in balance, in line with achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 15.3 Life on Land. Since UNCCD celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, we focused on organizations and individuals qualifying…

Nominations for the 2021 Land for Life Award of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) opened today. The submission of nominees will close after two months, on 28 January 2021. The Award recognizes initiatives to halt, reduce and/or reverse land degradation that have had a…

More partnerships and investment are needed to support the pan-African partnership to tackle desertification and land degradation Rome, Italy, 16 December 2013 – The Great Green Wall initiative is hosting an international forum to build new partnerships and accelerate progress in tackling one of…

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) has been defined by the Parties to the Convention as: A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales…

The plight of people migrating in the context of environmental degradation, climate change impacts and natural disasters as well as potential governance responses to such challenges have received a lot of attention in recent years. The finalization of the text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly…

Bolgatanga, Ghana – Entrepreneurs and policy makers from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali and Niger came together on 15-16 April to explore the potential of creating new markets for crops grown in the Sahel. The workshop, organized by UNCCD together with a social enterprise Aduna and a local NGO…

Located in the arid and semi-arid areas of West Africa, the Sahel has undergone profound changes over the past 50 years. Known for the prevalence of land degradation processes, the Sahel is suffering from the combined negative effects of population growth, human activities and climate variability…

Climate- and human-induced land degradation endangers the future survival of our planet. A new focus on achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) seeks to spark and grow transformative efforts to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation through gender- and socially-equitable means. As of July…

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Changwon Initiative, UNCCD and Korea Forest Service are launching two global contests: a virtual choir competition and a video contest to to promote efforts to combat desertification and restore degraded lands and forests. The submission deadline is 30…

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…

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) can directly support the achievement of more than three-quarters of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, according to a new report published by the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, in collaboration with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Global…

Statement on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought June 17, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, today issued the following statement: Today marks the anniversary of the 1994 adoption of the United Nations…

Two business corporations from Egypt and China are recognized as true influencers in combating land degradation. Erdos, Inner Mongolia, China, 28 July 2015 – The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced the two winners of the prestigious Land for Life Award, who…

The symposium is co-organized by the China National Sand Control and Desert Industry Society, the Department of Forestry and Grasslands of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Inner Mongolia Agriculture University, and is jointly supported by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration…

The Government and the people of Eritrea are committed to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) by 2030. In order to restore, sustain and enhance the productive functions of the country’s natural ecosystem resources, Government of Eritrea has massively invested in the agriculture sector. All…

Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) in Haiti The people of Haiti struggle with problems as a result of land degradation and lack of access to sanitation. Through building eco-san toilets, SOIL provides access to toilets to people who have none, and at the same time creates valuable…

Opening remarks by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw As UNCCD, we care about land. We care about people’s livelihoods. We care about ecosystems. Having “Land in balance” is our motto. Reconciling the needs of a growing population -and a growing middle class- on one hand, with the need to…

Bonn, Germany – How will the use and condition of land change worldwide over the next few decades? What drives those changes, and what will be the effects on agriculture, water, climate and biodiversity? How will they influence the challenge to achieve global sustainability ambitions? Which regions…

Ordos, China – The seventh Kubuqi International Desert Forum opened on 26 June with a message from the President of China H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping, who reiterated county's commitment to international cooperation for protecting global environment. Vice Premier of China H.E. Ms. Sun Chunlan also addressed…

Maseru, Lesotho, 3 March 2014 – To mark Africa Environment Day, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has issued Desertification: The invisible frontline, a publication showing the link between desertification, climate change and the growing threats to national and international…

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts a strong emphasis on the integrated approach to achieving SDGs that can harness synergies and minimize potential trade-offs. Land can play an important part in accelerating the achievement of many SDGs. Maintaining and restoring land resources can…

Bonn, Germany – Close to 20 million ha of land have already been restored as part of the the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative, according to the report released on 7 September at a virtual meeting of environmental ministers from Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan…

During a mission of UNCCD in the Agadez region in Niger in January 2017, the team discovered the “Projet d’Appui au Développement Agricole de l’Irhazer, du Tamesna et de l’Aïr” (project to support agricultural development of Irhazer, Tamesna and Aïr), supported by AREVA during 5 years, until 2020…

Barcelona, Spain – A regional workshop co-organized by FAO, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Global Mechanism of UNCCD took place at the UfM headquarters from 4 to 7 November 2019, gathering participants from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia to deepen their…

Launched at the UNCCD COP10 in the Republic of Korea as part of the Changwon Initiative, the Land for Life Award recognizes excellence and innovation in efforts towards land in balance. The past editions shed light on inspiring initiatives of recovery and restoration of degraded landscapes worldwide…