The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) welcomes the pledge of 5.25 billion United States dollars announced today for the eighth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF8). The increase in GEF resources comes at a critical moment as many countries around the world are facing multiple challenges – from drought to conflicts, to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all of which could turn policy attention away from sustainable growth and development approaches. Developing and the least developed countries, in particular, will benefit from the increased allocation by supplementing stretched national budgets to achieve the desired post-COVID-19 recovery. The announcement also comes a month before the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties to UNCCD, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where governments will decide on the priority actions to take in 2022 and 2023. “Land is where life thrives. We applaud countries’ leadership and commitment to successfully replenish the GEF for next 4 years from July 2022. Today's announcement will ramp up efforts to combat land degradation that would have a positive impact on the restoration of ecosystems,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. The restoration by 2030 of the one billion hectares of land pledged would have vast economic, social and environmental benefits worldwide. Biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable land management, recovery of ground water sources. In turn, these benefits could improve food security for communities and consumers worldwide. The Global Mechanism of the UNCCD regularly receives requests from countries for support to develop large-scale projects that can transform livelihoods and landscapes. It continues to provide technical assistance to stakeholders in developing project ideas that are eligible for GEF funding. The increased GEF8 allocation for the land focal area may encourage countries with worsening land degradation to take concrete action. About 130 of the 169 UNCCD country parties affected by desertification have shown great interest in restoring degrading land and pursuing sustainable land management. Since its establishment in 1992, GEF has played a catalytic role in land restoration and rehabilitation activities. The GEF became a financial mechanism of the UNCCD in 2010. GEF funding has helped countries to create the enabling environment needed to motivate other partners, including the private sector, to invest in large-scale restoration.

Healthy land is an integral part of planetary well-being, which supports and sustains societies and ecosystems. Loss of healthy land threatens our health, security and prosperity, driving the interconnected crises of desertification, drought, biodiversity collapse and climate change. Land restoration offers a effective and efficient nature-based solution to address the world’s biggest challenges and achieve Sustainable Development Goals. The Changwon Initiative, launched at UNCCD COP10 in Changwon, the Republic of Korea, aims to assist countries in linking policy and action to protect and restore degraded lands. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Initiative, UNCCD and the Korea Forest Service are launching a global virtual choir competition to promote land and forest restoration. The application deadline is 17 April 2022. Winners will be announced at the anniversary ceremony of the Initiative in the sidelines of UNCCD COP15 in May 2022 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and will receive cash and other prizes. Learn more: How to apply UNCCD COP15