UNCCD Terminology

Set of interventions, marshalled to attain specific global, regional, country, or sector development objectives. A development program is a time bound intervention involving multiple activities that may cut across sectors, themes and/or geographic areas. A programme typically consists of several projects.
(Source: OECD Development Assistance Committee (2002). Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf)

An indicator used to track progress towards the strategic objectives formulated in the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework.

Individual development intervention designed to achieve specific objectives within specified resources and implementation schedules, often within the framework of a broader program.
(Source: OECD Development Assistance Committee (2002). Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf)

Indirect and approximate measure in the unavailability of a direct measure based on a specific indicator.

When technical defects and deficiencies of the sensor and data transfer systems lead to mistakes in the image construction, corrections are required for striping, partially missing lines, illumination and view angle effects, sensor calibration and terrain effects.

Data that are described by a cell grid, one value per cell. The cells are arrayed in a row and column pattern to provide “wall to wall” coverage of a study region. Cell values are used to represent the type or quality of mapped variables, typically those that may change across a region e.g., elevation, mean temperature, slope, average rainfall, or soil moisture.

After signing a treaty, a country must ratify it, often with the approval of its parliament or other legislature. Such process implies not only an expression of interest as indicated by the signature, but the transformation of the treaty’s principles and obligations into national law. The instrument of ratification must be deposited with the Depositary which, in the case of the CCD, is the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The country will become a Party of the Convention by the completion of a period of 90 days after the deposit of the instrument of ratification.

Aerial or satellite imagery that has not been processed. Processing applies both radiometric and geometric corrections (See “Radiometric correction” and “Geometric correction”).

Actions undertaken with the aim of returning degraded land to a useful state. While not all reclamation projects enhance natural capital, those that are more ecologically-based can qualify as rehabilitation or even restoration (adapted from Society for Ecological Restoration International Science and Policy Working Group, 2004).

The Red List Index (RLI) is a measure of change in aggregate extinction risk across groups of species. It is based on genuine changes in the number of species in each category of extinction risk on The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Planting of forests on lands that have previously contained forests but that have been converted to some other use.

Regional Action Programmes promote and strengthen technical cooperation networks to harmonize, complement and increase the efficiency of national action programmes.The purpose of regional action programmes is to identify the factors contributing to desertification and practical measures necessary to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought at regional level. These programmes may include agreed joint programmes for the sustainable management of transboundary natural resources, scientific and technical cooperation, and strengthening of relevant institutions to harmonize, complement and increase the efficiency of national action programmes.

The Convention contains five Regional Annexes on the implementation of the treaty in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Northern Mediterranean, and Central and Eastern Europe. These Annexes contain elements for the preparation of action programmes, their exact focus and content for particular sub-regions and regions, according to the respective socio-economic, geographical and climatic factors.

Affected country Parties shall coordinate the preparation, negotiation and implementation of national, sub-regional and regional action programmes. To this aim, they may set up a coordinating mechanism in order to facilitate, for example, the exchange of information, the development of thematic networks, the promotion of cooperation.

Mechanism that facilitates cooperation among affected country Parties within the regions and enhance synergies among the relevant institutions, programmes and mechanisms of the United Nations System, multilateral development banks, bilateral donors and other regional and subregional actors and mechanisms in order to facilitate regional and subregional action programmes and, where appropriate, provide technical assistance to the national action programmes. The RCM could include, inter alia, regional committees, TPNs and regional coordination units (RCUs).

In the UNCCD context, five regional groups meet privately to discuss issues and nominate Bureau members and other officials. They are Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and the Western Europe and Other Group (WEOG).

The implementation of the UNCCD is geared around five regional implementation annexes: Annex 1 for Africa, Annex 2 for Asia, Annex 3 for Latin America and the Caribbean, Annex 4 for Northern Mediterranean and Annex 5 for Central and Eastern Europe. These annexes are meant to set out the focus and content of action programmes for particular subregions and regions. They also provide a framework for regional coordination and collaboration.