In light of the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Desertification and the 20th anniversary of the empowerment of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the periodization is given and the main stages in the development of international efforts to combat desertification and changes in the desertification paradigm are examined. The UNCCD initiatives, which require serious scientific study at the present stage, are reviewed, including the actively developed concept of land-degradation neutrality. A conclusion is drawn about the need to expand the mandate of the UNCCD beyond the narrow geographic scope of arid and dry regions.