All publications and documents

The Kyoto Protocol negotiated in the mid-1990s to address climate change adaptation and mitigation will be replaced by a post-Kyoto agreement in 2012. The new agreement under negotiation needs to seal the policy gaps in adaptation and mitigation that were omitted or excluded from Kyoto on account of scientific uncertainties. Particular attention needs to be given to the potential of land in all…

The Kyoto Protocol negotiated in the mid-1990s to address climate change adaptation and mitigation will expire in 2012. This protocol represents one of the two milestones that the multilateral negotiation of climate change has delivered. Ten years after its adoption, the climate change negotiators decided upon the second largest milestone when they approved the Bali Action Plan at their 2007…

The Convention offers new hope in the struggle against desertification. Over the past decades, the problem of land degradation in dryland regions has continued to worsen. The Convention promotes a fresh new approach to managing dryland ecosystems and - just as important - to managing development aid flows. Desertification is caused by climate variability and human activities. In the…

The present severe economic and financial crisis has resulted in the collapse of banks, insurance and industrial companies, shrinking world trade that trigger protectionist trends leading to rising unemployment. Developing countries may again pay the highest burden due to lacking financial resources for job creation, credits and food imports. This is affecting rural communities and the urban poor…

Human activities have resulted in unprecedented phenomena and severe impacts for the 21st century such as land degradation, natural resources scarcity, climate change, and a rapid decline in biodiversity. These alterations engender secondary effects such as political conflicts, disputes over resources, social disruptions and sudden shocks of catastrophic weather events which are becoming more…

It’s a simple case of supply and demand. The global population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050 – that’s a lot of mouths to feed. To meet that demand, global food production will need to increase by 70% and water management will need significant innovations. Otherwise, millions of us will face a future of hunger, poverty and conflict. With 44% of global food production taking place in the…