Central to the issues of climate change, land degradation and loss of biodiversity, adaptation involves increasing agricultural productivity and laying the foundations for a rational and sustainable use of natural resources. Over time, adaptation must contribute to the development of a diversified…

Next-generation soil information system of Africa

Land restoration is not a “glamorous subject even when you give all the numbers,” admits Monique Barbut, the Executive Secretary of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD). But she also stresses that by 2050, the world population will reach 10 billion. To feed that extra 2.4…

In 2013 and 2014, Jordan updated its Rangeland Strategy to enshrine Hima into law, helping to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 15, Target 3, to stop desertification and restore degraded land and soil. Jordan’s Hima policies have won recognition in the form of a Future Policy Award from the World…

When the heat is on, ground shrinkage means subsiding soils. Sustained drought could cause structural problems in parts of Spain.

Managed carefully, soils are a reusable resource, but in a scale of human lifetimes they cannot be considered as a renewable resource. Land Degradation Neutrality is a new paradigm in environmental politics for avoiding, reducing and reversing land degradation in an integrated way. The response…

Desertification is a very broad term, which has been defined in many different ways. One definition is “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub- humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities".

The last great hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change may lie in a substance so commonplace that we typically ignore it or else walk all over it: the soil beneath our feet. The earth possesses five major pools of carbon. Of those pools, the atmosphere is already overloaded with the stuff; the…

Hadjara Ali watched with displeasure as a tractor dug trenches through the parched earth in her remote Niger village, preparing ground for planting where grass has not grown in years. By using machines, women will no longer be obliged to do the back-breaking work left by men who leave their villages…

The EEA ‘Environmental Indicator Report 2017’ gives an overview of the EU’s progress towards 29 environmental policy objectives. These are relevant to the achievement of the 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP) three key priority objectives: natural capital; resource-efficient, low-carbon economy…

With the reality of climate change becoming more real by the day, including its impact on food sources, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is urging communities around the world not to take the prickly cactus for granted. “Climate change and the increasing risks of droughts…

The Global Soil Organic Carbon Map (GSOCmap) is not just a map! It is also a consultative and participatory process involving 110 countries, which makes this map totally new and unique! The GSOCmap provides users with very useful information to monitor the soil condition, identify degraded areas…

Contributes to the understanding of soils in relation to ecosystem services (ES). Temporal and geographical distribution of soil ES studies has been analyzed. Highlights use of soil information on the spatial aspects of soil ES studies. Recommends the future soil ES research focus.

How do peatlands fit into the landscapes approach? What are the biggest challenges when it comes to the management of peatlands?

What are drylands and why are they important? Present in each continent and covering over 40 per cent of the earth, drylands generally refer to arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas, and are home to more than 2 billion people, or one in three people in the world. Drylands are key to global food and…

Land-resource planning key to feeding growing world, preserving resources. One-third of planet’s land is degraded, hitting food production and damaging livelihoods