The nomination process for the Glinka World Soil Prize 2017 is now open and organizations and individuals are invited to propose appropriate candidates. Supported by the Russian Federation, the Prize is awarded annually under the auspices of the Global Soil Partnership on World Soil Day, consisting…

The study, published last month (July) in Scientific Reports, has developed the first-ever Global Rainfall Erosivity Database and a Global Erosivity Map. It notes that while rainfall provides moisture critical for plant growth, it is also one of the prime causes of soil degradation, referred to as…

Sand and dust storms pose a major challenge to sustainable development in arid and semi-arid regions of the planet. They occur when strong or very turbulent winds blow over dry, unvegetated soils and lift loose particles from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere. The concentration of airborne…

Capital city trees could deliver even more capital. Green fingers could convert urban grime into folding money and combat global warming at the same time.

Land is an essential building block of civilization yet its contribution to our quality of life is perceived and valued in starkly different and often incompatible ways. Conflicts about land use are intensifying in many countries. The world has reached a point where we must reconcile these…

The GEF has quickly responded to decisions of UNCCD COP12 in Ankara (2015) and started to support Land Degradation Neutrality target setting and implementation through several projects in GEF-6, which are summarized in this brochure.

When it comes to mitigating the worst impacts of climate change, keeping excess carbon out of the atmosphere is the prime target for improving the health of our planet. One of the best ways to do that is thought to be locking more of that carbon into the soil that grows our food. The scientific…

Land is an essential building block of civilization yet its contribution to our quality of life is perceived and valued in starkly different and often incompatible ways. Conflicts about land use are intensifying in many countries. The world has reached a point where we must reconcile these…

“Consumption of the earth's natural reserves has doubled in the last 30 years, with a third of the planet's land now severely degraded. Each year, we lose 15 billion trees and 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil. Smallholder farmers, women and indigenous communities are the most vulnerable, given…

This book comprehensively describes the major ecosystem services in dryland environments that are provided by typical land use, including forestland, grassland and farmland, using the Loess Plateau, Northwest China as an example. It offers extensive information on land policy, implementation and…