The number of people hungry around the world is up for the first time in more than a decade, says a new United Nations report issued today, pointing to violent conflicts and climate change as the major drivers. “This has set off alarm bells we cannot afford to ignore: we will not end hunger and all…

In conjunction with the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has launched a publication focused on land restoration and achievement of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)…

The 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will also focus to the issue of drought. COP 13 is meeting in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, from 6-16 September. One of three ministerial round tables at the Conference will address the…

During the first week of the thirteen session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) gave an update on its land degradation and restoration…

On 12 September 2017, the UNCCD launched its new flagship report titled, 'The Global Land Outlook' (GLO), which assesses the current and future state of the world’s land resources. Along with the GLO, the UNCCD released a series of working papers meant to "provide an expanded format as well as an…

The Ramsar Convention recognizes the interdependence of people on wetlands for their important economic, cultural, scientific and recreational values. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provides a framework for considering the multiple values…

Large parts of Southern Europe have suffered from drought this summer as a result of ruthless heat and low rainfall. A new near-real-time soil moisture data set developed as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) uses space-derived information to support drought…

The Global Mechanism of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and private sector asset manager Mirova have launched the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund, co-promoted and structured by the two partners since December 2015. The Fund is described as the first-ever privately managed…

Migration is one of the defining features of the 21st century. It contributes significantly to all aspects of economic and social development everywhere, and as such will be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This synthesis collates, and draws out key findings from, a series…

Speeding up efforts to reverse or prevent land degradation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is vital in the next few years if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved. That was the message at an event hosted by FAO last week during the 13th session of the Conference of the…

The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification has concluded with the adoption of 37 decisions. The meeting launched the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund and the UNCCD flagship publication, the ‘Global Land Outlook’. Brazil, India, and Liberia…

NSF awards $36.6 million in new food-energy-water system grants

This paper seeks to assess the interdependencies among water scarcity, youth unemployment and migration. It also attempts to unravel the different roles of women and men in the gendered migration process. Evidence shows that growing climatic variability has impacts on water availability and quality…

A UN General Assembly side event in New York highlighted current progress toward two global compacts: one on refugees and the other on safe, orderly and regular migration. The discussions are an outcome of commitments made in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which was adopted a…