All publications and documents

Knowledge exchange (KE) is usually undertaken in environmental management to inform policymakers and invoke social learning, knowledge co-production, and co-management among stakeholders [1–6]. Such KE, i.e., the “processes that generate, share and/or use knowledge through various methods appropriate to the context, purpose, and participants involved” [1], is increasingly recognised as key to…

On 16th of June 2023, during World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, representatives of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) warned the international community that women and girls in low- and middle-income countries are suffering the greatest burden of drought, land degradation, and desertification. Climate change and intensive, unsustainable land use,…

Desert dust and sandstorms are recurring environmental phenomena that are reported to produce serious health risks worldwide. This scoping review was conducted to identify the most likely health effects of desert dust and sandstorms and the methods used to characterize desert dust exposure from the existing epidemiological literature. We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Web…

Breathing life back into land yields multiple benefits for people and nature. Global commitments to restore degraded land have reached one billion hectares by 2030. The UNCCD is the global voice for land: we champion healthy, productive and accessible land for all. Learn more about our work to unlock the land's sustainable future. 

This policy brief highlights the critical role of gender-responsive approaches to land tenure that empower women and accelerate the implementation of land restoration commitments that build community resilience. It examines how greater tenure security for women and girls can lead to a more equitable and sustainable land management. The brief builds upon the United Nations Convention to Combat…

Are flash droughts, those that develop unusually rapidly unlike those that develop more slowly and typically have been considered the archetype, becoming the new normal? Yuan et al. show that droughts have begun to intensify more rapidly since the 1950s and that flash droughts have become more common over much of the world (see the Perspective by Walker and Van Loon). This trend, which makes…