Through the LDN Target-Setting Programme, interested countries receive technical guidance and specialized expertise to help define national Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) goals. Four building blocks form the basis of the LDN target-setting process, developed on the scientific guidance provided by…

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, one fact has never been more evident – our world, our planet and our lives are inextricably interconnected. There are very few issues that can be considered simply “health problems,” as nearly every aspect of life is connected to other…

Land is finite in quantity, however: the evidence presented in this Outlook suggests that, with changes in consumer and corporate behavior, and the adoption of more efficient planning and sustainable practices, we will have sufficient land available in the long term to meet both the demand for…

Widespread and unprecedented land degradation, including desertification, affects the well-being of at least 3.2 billion people (IPBES “Summary for policymakers of the thematic assessment report on land degradation and restoration,” 2018), threatens food production and biodiversity, contributes to…

January 2021 marked a grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 2 million people dead. Since the new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged on the global stage in early 2020, an historical and unprecedented effort has been deployed to quell this global health crisis. As we settle into a…

The United States Department of Agriculture- Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) Jornada has served as a field research laboratory since its establishment in 1912. Their varied scientific activities have led to important discoveries about desert ecosystems, which have become the basis for land…

In order to strengthen the scientific basis of the Convention, the Conference of the Parties (COP) at its eighth session in 2007 decided that future sessions of the CST shall be organized in a predominantly scientific and technical conference-style format and focus on a specific thematic topic…

The UNCCD Secretariat maintains a Roster of Independent Experts (RoE), based on nominations by Country Parties. This roster’s purpose is to facilitate access to information and expertise in a variety of fields related to the work of the Convention.

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, its main objective…

Generally, the gender equation is still largely viewed as, gender equals women (Gender = Women). Often, the equation is more precisely defined as “Gender = Women’s Vulnerabilities.” But this is only a small part of the equation. As I demonstrate below through recent field work in Lao People’s…

This July is the first time the United Nations will review the progress made towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 15, which is about Life on Land. Each goal will be reviewed about every 4 years until 2030. The reviews will be based on the 10 indicators countries agreed on, that assess change…

The UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI) was established in 2013 and promotes dialogue between scientists and policy makers on desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD). The composition of the SPI is designed to provide independent scientific perspective from the full range of disciplines…

“It is my experience that ecological restoration creates jobs, spurs innovation, and offers new opportunities in the green economy.” Ecological restoration of the abandoned Lizard Hill Sand Mine near Ocean City, in Maryland, United States, created a 32-acre mosaic of seepage wetlands (image before…

Definition Grazing pressure management assess the maximum livestock population that a habitat or ecosystem can support on a sustainable basis (the carrying capacity), to ensure that resources such as vegetation, soil, and water, are not damaged, degraded, or depleted. The technology is applied…

Definition Agroforestry is the integration of trees with crops and/or animals within the same land unit, and includes agro-silviculture (crops and trees), silvo-pastoralim (pasture/animals and trees), and agro-silvo-pastoralism (crops, pasture/animals and trees). Agroforestry is a common land use…

In the past, land degradation maps have been controversial; their value questioned due to the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon, the complexity of processes involved, and the difficulty of interpretation at a global scale. However, progress in the last two decades has improved the accuracy of…

An outlook is a vantage point, a platform, a perspective; it broadens our vistas and allows us to examine our prospects, both present and future. It is within this broader frame of thinking that the Global Land Outlook aims to present a unique perspective on one of the Earth’s most precious assets…

20 percent of the Earth’s total land area (more than 2 billion hectares), an area nearly the size of India and the Russian Federation combined, was degraded between 2000 and 2015, resulting in a significant loss of services essential to human well-being. That estimate is based on data reported by…

The UNCCD defines land as “the terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil, vegetation, other biota, and the ecological and hydrological processes that operate within the system” (Article 1 of the Convention). This chapter looks at the meaning and value of land in various ways, including…

The UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI) was established in 2013 to promote dialog between scientists and policy-makers on desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD).

A key objective of the UNCCD is to become a global authority on scientific and technical knowledge in the areas of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) and to address negative effects of DLDD on productive land and relevant ecosystems.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 include SDG 15.3 as a target on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). In October 2015, LDN was officially recognised by the UNCCD by a decision of the twelfth session of the Conference of the…

The UNCCD 1st scientific conference was held during the ninth session of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) from 22 to 24 September 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the theme “Bio-physical and Socio-economic Monitoring and Assessment of Desertification and Land Degradation to Support…

Land restoration is an essential component of any building-forward strategy. Without land restoration, we will continue to face global crises. Ensuring food and water security, reducing emissions and conserving biodiversity will not be possible without concerted efforts to regenerate our natural…

Definition Mixed land use systems combine two or more types of land use within the same land unit at a spatial or temporal scale, for example forest/woodland and cropland (WOCAT, 2016). This includes agroforestry (cropland and forest/woodland), agro-pastoralism (cropland and grazing land), agro…