The main focus of this work is centered on the rapidly growing research area of Global Environmental Governance. Based on a sound analysis of the changing role, structure and policies of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), he investigates how the multiple aspects of desertification, land degradation and drought can be better integrated into the ongoing climate change negotiation process. His approach is founded on the premise that the fragmented and politically-charged issue areas of environmental science and policy-making demand a fully integrative strategy based on systems thinking. By employing the notion of ecosystem-based approaches, he then makes specific suggestions for how to improve environmental policy integration and our understanding of potential synergies and conflicts between the desertification convention and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The book concludes with an outlook on the role that markets and payments for ecosystem services could play in regard to innovative financing for sustainable development.