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The Action Against Desertification (AAD) project supports eight countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Haiti, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal – in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in the sustainable management and restoration of degraded land. Baseline assessments have been carried out in each of these countries to establish a reference against which to…

Climate change is expected to affect sustainable development, economic growth and society throughout the world. Water is a key issue in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where there is already significant pressure on water supply. According to climate predictions, this pressure will increase in the future. Drought, water scarcity and various types of floods are foreseen by several models…

The European Union’s commitment to soil protection through the its Soil Thematic Strategy (EUSTS – COM (2006) 231, COM (2012) 46) and the 7th Environment Action Programme is one area that is explored, along with the very important point that soil condition underpins many areas such as food security, green growth and bio economies. We also discover that at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the…

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is mostly dry by nature because of its geographic location and climatic conditions. Around three quarters of the region consist of desert that is unwelcoming to life and normal human activities, with average annual precipitation less than 50 mm, and arid climate where average precipitation is less than 150 mm per annum. The rest is of either semi-arid…

Soil degradation is a global problem caused by many factors including excessive tillage, inappropriate crop rotations, excessive grazing or crop residue removal, deforestation, mining, construction and urban sprawl. To meet the needs of an expanding global population, it is essential for humankind to recognize and understand that improving soil health by adopting sustainable agricultural and land…

Indigenous and community lands, crucial for rural livelihoods, are typically held under informal customary arrangements. This can leave the land vulnerable to outside commercial interests, so communities may seek to formalize their land rights in a government registry and obtain an official land document. But this process is time-consuming and complex, and in contrast, companies can…