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It is my experience that ecological restoration creates jobs, spurs innovation, and offers new opportunities in the green economy. The growing recognition worldwide that there is a connection between healthy robust ecological processes and a healthy robust economy will continue to spur the demand for ecological restoration, which demand businesses are poised to meet

The Trust for Sustainable Living invites schoolchildren around the world to share their ideas on how they can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Conserve and sustainably manage life on land.” The essay competition is open to primary and secondary students, and to participate, a school must first register a Teacher Champion.  The Grand Prize is a free trip for the author of the essay plus a Teacher Champion and a parent to the TSL International Schools Debates and Awards in British Columbia, Canada on 8-12 July, 2019. Read more on how to participate... Resources: Videos: Youth for land Land degradation-neutral world Desertification: the silent crisis Action against desertification Global Land Outlook Desertification – a visual disaster A stronger UNCCD for a land degradation neutral world   Publications for secondary students and teachers: Education kit on combating desertification Teaching resource kit for dryland countries The land in numbers The land degradation neutrality: Resilience at local, national and regional levels A better world: life on land Desertification: a visual synthesis Primer on citizen advocacy and education Building a more sustainable world through education Publications for primary students: Soils challenge badge There's no rug big enough to sweep the desert under

The UNCCD Secretariat welcomes the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018.  We welcome the Summit’s pledge to actively promote environmental cooperation, in particular, through forestry. The UNCCD secretariat is ready to support common efforts that, in the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals, help achieve Land Degradation Neutrality.  Such cooperation could deliver peace, prosperity and a more sustainable future for all the people on the Korean Peninsula.    Read the Declaration (Rep. of Korea government's homepage)   (Photo Korea Forest Service)

The Earth is fragile and changing, and no single government has sufficient resources to help communities fully adapt to the changes and then recover after an environmental disaster. It is a growing but ominous reality. The cost and number of climate related disasters is rising. The total cost of the damage from environmental disasters between 2005 and 2014 was more than $1.4 trillion. Read more This opinion co-authored by Ms. Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, Mr. Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer at the Agence de développement Française, Mr. Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President at European Investment Bank and Mr. Philippe Zaouati, Chief Executive Officer of Mirova.

A technical workshop on the Caribbean sub-regional LDN transformative project "Implementing Gender-Responsive and Climate Smart Land Management in the Caribbean" is being held in St. Lucia, West Indies, from 26 to 28 September. The workshop is co-organized by the UNCCD/GM, UN-Women, IUCN, and FAO.  The workshop aims to build and strengthen capacity on gender mainstreaming. It also addresses how to refine and finalize the project concept note with the involvement of all key stakeholders prior to seeking financial support from the Green Climate Fund. A key focus of the project is to build synergies between the on-going activities relevant to the Land Degradation Neutrality initiative. The workshop is designed to embed gender perspectives in the synergistic implementation of these activities in the Caribbean sub-region. The workshop is attended by government representatives from 10 Caribbean countries and other stakeholders including women farmer groups in the region. The Partnership Initiative on Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), which spearheads the concept note development in collaboration with UNCCD, UN-Women and IUCN, also contributed to the workshop.    Read more:UNCCD Gender Action PlanPublication: Land Degradation Neutrality: Transformative Action, tapping opportunities

(la version en français suit / French text follows) At the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 73) general debate, H.E. Mr. Saad-Eddine El Othmani, Prime Minister of Morocco, spoke about the Sustainability, Security and Stability Initiative (the 3S Initiative) as one of the African-led initiatives which aim to achieve prosperity and stability on the African continent [watch video]. Morocco co-chairs the 3S Initiative with Senegal. In his statement, Prime Minister El Othmani explained the 3S as an initiative which “aims to combat desertification in Africa so as to re-habilitate and reclaim our lands and to allow for the reintegration of our inhabitants and our citizens in these regions.” He invited everyone at the Assembly “to participate in the various areas of work that pertain to this very important issue for Africa and its development.” About the 3S InitiativeAbout UNGA73 UNGA73: Le Maroc appelle à soutenir l'initiative 3S Lors du grande dé boit de la 73ème session de l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies (UNGA 73), S.E. M. Saad-Eddine El Othmani, Premier ministre du Maroc, a parlé de l’Initiative pour la Souténabilité, la Sécurité et la Stabilité (Initiative 3S) comme l’une des initiatives Africaines visant à assurer la prospérité et la stabilité sur le continent Africain [regarder la vidéo]. Le Maroc copréside l'Initiative 3S avec le Sénégal. Dans son discours, le Premier ministre El Othmani a expliqué que les 3S étaient une initiative «visant à lutter contre la désertification en Afrique afin de réhabiliter et de récupérer nos terres et de permettre la réintégration de nos habitants et de nos citoyens dans ces régions». L’invita tous les membres de l’Assemblée «à participer aux différents domaines d’intervention relatifs à cette importante question pour l’Afrique et son développement». À propos de l'initiative 3SÀ propos de UNGA73 (UN Photo/Cia Pak)