New global database of trees affirms the need for greater conservation and protection of forests to slow the pace of global warming

Climatic changes have real implications for food security in Alberta’s urban centres, including the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. More frequent extreme weather events could damage critical infrastructure required to transport food supplies to and within cities, as well as impair the capacity of…

Land use is the only way to draw down carbon. “If you’re going the wrong way, you need to stop and turn around. Slowing down just means you’re going the wrong way more slowly.”

Results and tools developed by the Poverty- Environment Initiative (PEI). The Poverty- Environment Initiative (PEI) of the United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Environment Programme aims to support countries in implementing policies, instruments, plans and budgets that combine the…

New Study Highlights Benefits and Costs of Action and Inaction on Drought. Working paper seeks to support policy and practice on drought mitigation and preparedness. Significant progress has been made over the past decade in improving understanding of droughts and their impacts. However, several…

With growing awareness of the economic costs of land degradation, political leaders are adopting ambitious targets to restore degraded forests and agricultural land. Building on the interest in forest landscape restoration generated by the Bonn Challenge, in 2014, countries adopted the New York…

Desertification is a form of land degradation in drylands. It results from unsustainable land management practices and climatic factors. Thirteen EU Member States, not only in the Mediterranean region, but also in Central and Eastern Europe, have declared that they are affected by desertification…

Healthy forests mean healthy people. Forests provide health benefits for everyone: fresh air, nutritious foods, clean water, and recreation space. In developed countries, up to 25 percent of all medicinal drugs are plant-based; in developing countries, the number is as high as 80 percent. While…

The main purpose of the report is to provide up-to-date information about public and private sector finance that is channelled to activities and assets that can be considered NbS and to present estimates of the future needs. This Report complements the vast array of existing literature and processes…

Climate change affects agriculture in a number of ways. Changes in temperature and precipitation as well as weather and climate extremes are already influencing crop yields and livestock productivity in Europe. Weather and climate conditions also affect the availability of water needed for…

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…

The population is estimated to reach nine billion by 2050, putting huge strains on food outputs. Combine this with climate change and desertification – leading to smaller amounts of arable land for crop production – and existing irrigation practices that over-extract groundwater and you begin to see…