Dear friends: This year, living under the shadow of COVID19, choices seems to have vanished for many of us. We can’t choose where we go, how we work, and how we celebrate with our friends, our families. We should be celebrating the just-ended Decade on Desertification, for example. As people suffer…

Message from the UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw Dear friends! This year's World Environment Day finds us all struggling to overcome the disastrous effects of COVID-19. Yet, together with the understanding that stressing out ecosystems and habitats creates a way in for the next crisis, we…

The series of films aims to celebrate the global observance of the Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June 2020 and raise awareness on the theme this year: Food, Feed and Fibre. Film 1 | Film 2 | Film 3 | Film 4 | Film 5 | Film 6 Film 1: The chef on a sustainability mission Chef Megha Kohli is a…

The Global Mechanism of the UNCCD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with multiple partners, have published the Briefing note and Technical report Land Degradation Neutrality in Small Island Developing States. The report presents the Land…

Dear friends, We are all living through a difficult period at the moment, so thank you for taking the time to engage in this important event. Fifty years ago today, Americans mobilized the world to demand a new contract with nature. Earth Day was born. The very name of this day, of our planet, tells…

Banja Luka, Republika Sprska – As a developing country with fragile economy dependent on imported goods and services, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been seriously affected by the COVID–19 crisis. Under the state of emergency declared by the government of the Republika Srpska on March 16, 2020, and due…

Language versions: Arabic | Chinese | French | Russian | Spanish The international community is developing policy measures and actions to help the people most vulnerable to drought to take early action to avoid loss of life, and the heavy and growing losses of livelihoods and damage to property and…

Land Degradation Neutrality for Water Security and Combatting Drought is a new briefing note released by the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Wageningen University and Research (WUR) on the occasion of the…

Water scarcity is already widespread and remains on the rise: it is found in nearly every region in the world. Around 36% of the world’s population is currently living in water-scarce regions. This publication shows that avoiding, reducing and reversing land degradation have positive long-term gains…

Land is the foundation of our societies and is a cornerstone to global food security and environmental health, zero hunger, poverty eradication and affordable energy. It underpins the success of the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmen, and yet this finite resource is under existential…

Bonn, Germany – The inception workshop for the new sand and dust storms (SDS) toolbox opened at UNCCD headquarters on 13 February 2020, bringing together representatives of international organizations to assess the needs and present tools available to create an effective platform to meet the…

By UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. Published 13 February 2020 by project-sydicate.org Bonn, Germany – For the last decade, bioenergy has been confined to the sidelines of climate-policy debates, owing to the environmental problems associated with its production. But recent innovations have…

2020 Desertification and Drought Day will focus on links between consumption and land This year's global observance event, hosted by Korea Forest Service, will take place online, with a full-day program featuring a variety of exciting events and international talent. Desertification and Drought Day…

Bonn, 28 January 2020 – A unique global initiative to promote peace through land restoration was signed today by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Korea Forest Service (KFS). Conflicts over natural resources are among key peace and security challenges of the…

Countries in Central Asia are highly vulnerable to drought and sand and dust storms (SDS), particularly outside high-elevation areas where the climate is mostly semi-arid to arid. Recognizing the increasing risk of drought and SDS, UNCCD Parties adopted decisions on addressing the negative impact of…

Bonn, Germany — Six weeks after the launch of UNCCD Land Anthem, composed and performed by award-winning musicians and UNCCD Land Ambassadors Ricky Kej and Baaba Maal, more than 300 000 people enjoyed the official music video released on World Soil Day, December 5, 2019. We are amazed and incredibly…

To celebrate 25 years of remarkable positive impact on land, people, communities and society, the UNCCD secretariat launched a collection of land-related commemorative items at UNCCD headquarters in Bonn, Germany. The exhibit embodies the convention's firm commitment to protecting healthy and…

Nouakchott hosted an important conference on Environment and Sustainable Development on Thursday, 26 December 2019. The conference was organized by the “Collectif des Cadres Mauritaniens Expatriés” (CCME) under the theme "Environment and Sustainable Development in Mauritania: Challenges and…

Award winning musicians Baaba Maal of Senegal and Ricky Kej of India have released a new music video Born from the Land on World Soil Day to celebrate the land. Why? Here is what they say: There is a sense of excitement and joy when musicians come together for the cause of environmental…

The Conference of Parties at its fourteenth session (UNCCD COP 14) decided to establish an Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on effective policy and implementation measures for addressing drought under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with a view to presenting its…

Arabic | Chinese | French | Russian | Spanish Bonn, 2 December 2019 – The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and UNCCD Land Ambassador Ricky Kej are pleased to announce the release of the official music video titled Born from the Land. Award-winning musicians Ricky Kej and…

Three-quarters of the land-based environment has been significantly altered by human actions. The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20 per cent, mostly since 1900. Land degradation has reduced the productivity of 23 per cent of the global…

Arabic | Chinese | French | Spanish | Russian UNCCD is launching an online contest for the Desertification and Drought Day 2020 theme and slogan. Submissions can be made in any United Nations language: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish. The competition aims to raise awareness…

Soils host a tremendous diversity of organisms that are fundamental to terrestrial ecosystems. Soil biodiversity drives many ecological processes, including soil formation, nutrient and water cycling, climate regulation, production of food, medicine and fibre, disease and pest control. In the…

Bonn, 23 October 2019 – Droughts have decimated communities and livelihoods in Africa for long. This year alone, over 45 million people across Africa, mostly in Eastern and Southern Africa, are food insecure due to prolonged droughts. The Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) and the United Nations Convention…