All publications and documents

Cities and global biodiversity goals This policy brief describes the crucial role cities hold for realising global goals for nature. Whether or not the global community is able to achieve its goals for biodiversity over the next three decades will critically depend on how both the threats and opportunities of living on an urban planet are addressed. Advancing transformative change…

The pressure on land is growing in many regions of the world, due to the increasing demand for arable crops, meat and dairy products, bio-energy and timber, and is exacerbated by land degradation and climate change. This policy report provides scenario projections for the UNCCD Global Land Outlook, exploring future changes to the use and condition of land and the resulting impacts on food, water,…

Climate change and extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food, water and energy security and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. The impacts span the entire region, including Andean peaks, mighty river basins and low-lying islands, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It flags concerns about fires and the loss of forests…

Africa’s natural wealth underpins the continent’s current and future welfare. In addition to natural resources this wealth encompasses a broad range of benefits from nature to society. These ‘ecosystem services’ include clean water for growing cities, insect pollination for agriculture, medicinal plant products for medication, tourism potential, and others. Yet many African countries are facing…

The ten principles for ecosystem restoration include a first principle that orients restoration in the context of the UN Decade, followed by nine best-practice principles. These best-practice principles detail the essential tenets of ecosystem restoration that should be followed to maximize net gain for native biodiversity, ecosystem health and integrity, and human health and well…

The report analyses 10 interconnected disasters that took place in 2020/2021. They were selected for their notoriety and representation of larger global issues, which have changed or will change our lives across the world. The year 2020 brought this interconnectivity into sharp focus with the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the risks increasing connectedness with our environment …