New Delhi, India – The Global Mechanism (GM) of the UNCCD has just released a new briefing note that explores interlinkages between land degradation, poverty and inequality, making the case that investing in land degradation neutrality (LDN) – Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 15.3 – matters…

Yinchuan, China – The new International Knowledge Management Center on Combating Desertification opened on 5 December during the International Seminar on Desertification Control Technologies and Practices in the city of Yinchuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, China. The center is the result of…

Kick-off meeting of the study "Climate Change, Land Degradation and Migration Nexus in Central Asia" took place on 19 July online, with the UNCCD Secretariat representatives, UNCCD national focal points and experts from Central Asia and Russian Federation. The participants discussed the main…

I would like to make reference to decisions 5/COP.9, 5/COP.10, 5/COP.11, 5/COP.12, and 5/COP.13 which establishes the procedures for the participation of civil society organizations in meetings and processes of the UNCCD and additional mechanisms and procedures to select candidates by the…

Bonn, Germany, 14 April 2013 – Desertification, the degradation of the land in the world’s dryland areas, now affects 168 countries that are Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the latest reports submitted by the Parties show. This is much higher than previous estimations…

Opening remarks by UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw On the occasion of the Virtual meeting of the COP 14 Bureau Wednesday, 30 September 2020 Dear Mr. President, Dear Bureau members, It is a pleasure for me to welcome you once again for a virtual meeting of our Bureau. Few months have…

Bangkok, Thailand – The World Soil Day (WSD) celebration was held on 5 December 2018 under the theme “Be the Solution to Soil Pollution.” Over 800 participants gathered for the event jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative Land Development Department, Soil and Fertilizer…

The first online course on gender and land degradation was launched last week at the 6th Global Environment Fund (GEF) Assembly in Da Nang, Vietnam. The land degradation module is part of a five-module course on gender and environment, with a focus on the multilateral environmental agreements GEF…

Globally and regionally renowned personalities have long played an effective advocacy and awareness raising role in sustainable development issues. In today’s social media dominated discourse, their ability to connect with their millions of fans using TikTok, Instagram or Twitter is immediate…

Media Advisory in English | en français Le rapport « Great Green Wall: Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030 » (« Grande Muraille Verte : état d’avancement et marche à suivre à l’orée 2030 »), première évaluation exhaustive de l’état d’avancement de l’Initiative de la Grande Muraille Verte…

15.02.2018 – 16.02.2018 UN Campus, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany The 7th Meeting of the Science-Policy Interface (SPI) will take place at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany, 15-16 February 2018. The SPI’s unique composition of global as well as regional independent scientists…

Nowhere are the challenges of achieving sustainable development in the face of a changing climate more acute than in the Sahel. As the world prepares to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to secure progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in the region. The…

UNCCD Secretariat and WOCAT will launch their joint new publication "Restoring Life to the Land – The Role of Sustainable Land Management in Ecosystem Restoration." It will illustrate how Sustainable Land Management (SLM) experience feeds directly into ecosystem restoration efforts, as well as…

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…

Luc Gnacadja was the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) from 2007 until 2013. Born in Benin, Mr. Gnacadja is an architect by profession, having graduated from the African School of Architecture and Urbanism in Lome. He was also the successful CEO…