UNCCD Terminology

According to 1992 United Nations estimates, over 110 countries in all continents are affected by desertification, which is defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and/or dry sub-humid areas.

The baseline (or reference) is the state against which change is measured. In the context of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), the initial (t0) estimated value of each of the indicators used to monitor progress in the achievement of LDN for each land type. The baseline values of these indicators are measured at the time of implementation of the LDN conceptual framework.

At the field level: programmes and projects relating to desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD). At the institutional level: meetings of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC), meetings of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST), meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP), and meetings at regional level.

Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.

Summarizes the combined issues and impacts related to desertification, land degradation and drought. See also ‘Desertification’, ‘Land degradation’ and ‘Drought’.

A result which wrongly indicates that a particular condition or attribute is present. For UNCCD reporting, a false positive occurs when the One-Out All-Out process has incorrectly indicated that an area is not degraded even though the change in land condition is considered sufficiently negative to qualify as degraded in the context of SDG indicator 15.3.1. See also “False negative”

The Global Mechanism (GM) was established under Article 21 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to assist countries in the mobilization of financial resources to implement the Convention and address desertification, land degradation and drought.  As an operational arm of the Convention, the GM provides advisory services and works together with developing countries, private sector and donors to mobilize substantial resources for the implementation of UNCCD.

For the purpose of SDG Indicator 15.3.1 reporting, land degradation is defined as the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from a combination of pressures, including land use and management practices.

A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem function and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems

The specific objective(s) to achieve LDN at national level, adopted voluntarily by a country. The ambition of a country with respect to achieving LDN is no net loss of healthy and productive land for each land type, compared with the baseline, and thus the LDN target equals the baseline. Countries may elect to set a more ambitious LDN target if they envision the possibility that gains will exceed losses. In rare circumstances a country may set its LDN target acknowledging and justifying that losses may exceed gains if they forecast that some portion of future land degradation associated with past decisions/realities is not currently possible to counterbalance.

A decline in land-based natural capital expected to decrease the value of one or more of the indicators of LDN projected during land use planning for a specific area of land (e.g., land unit) and a specified timeframe, where new land degradation is deemed likely. See also gain.

The monitoring period is the time period over which an indicator is measured and quantified using the same methods employed for the baseline or previous monitoring period.
(Source: Sims et al. Good Practice Guidance SDG Indicator 15.3.1: Proportion of Land that is degraded over total land area. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Bonn, Germany. http://www2.unccd.int/sites/default/files/relevant-links/2017-10/Good%2…).

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).

As per the annex of decision 7/COP.13 reporting on progress towards the strategic objectives is required by all Parties considering themselves affected by desertification, land degradation and drought, provided that (i) Parties have sufficient official national data/information to report or validate national estimates derived from global data sources; and (ii) reporting is provided primarily from official national data.
Since information on the three land-based indicators (trends in land cover, trends in land productivity or functioning of the land, and trends in carbon stocks above and below ground) will be also used to inform the sustainable development goal 15.3, all Parties to the UNCCD are invited to provide relevant information.
Reporting on implementation framework of the 2018-2030 Strategic Framework will be done through qualitative reporting and on a voluntary basis until the CRIC has considered refining the reporting guidelines
(Source: http://www2.unccd.int/sites/default/files/sessions/documents/2017-11/co…)

The sole reporting entities for UNCCD reporting are Parties to the UNCCD that submit official reports containing information on the implementation of the Convention and/or the 2018-2030 Strategic Framework at national level and/or highlighting activities providing support to those Parties affected by desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD).

The set of prioritized actions/interventions that may be planned and then implemented in response to past or anticipated future land degradation.

Higher level objectives defined in the context of the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework to guide the actions of all UNCCD stakeholders and partners in the 2018-2030 period. More specifically, the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework defines the following strategic objectives: Strategic objective 1: To improve the condition of affected ecosystems, combat desertification/land degradation, promote sustainable land management and contribute to land degradation neutrality Strategic objective 2: To improve the living conditions of affected populations Strategic objective 3: To mitigate, adapt to, and manage the effects of drought in order to enhance resilience of vulnerable populations and ecosystems Strategic objective 4: To generate global benefits through effective implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Strategic objective 5: To mobilize substantial and additional financial and non-financial resources to support the implementation of the Convention by building effective partnerships at global and national level.