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Land is the foundation of our life; stopping the critical loss of land and turning this trend around is critical for the future prosperity and security of humankind. The Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Life on land” commits world leaders to work together to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) for safeguarding life on land. One of the objectives that comprises LDN is to…

The Fifth International Workshop on Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) attracted 74 local and 30 foreign experts and academicians from Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, Somalia, Qatar, Oman, Mauritania and Senegal, as well as representatives of UNCCD, the World Meteorology Organization and the UN Environment. Dry lands that generate sand and dust storms…

Soil forms a thin and yet vital membrane covering the non-submerged surface of our planet. It drives the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles upon which life on earth depends and is home to an immense diversity of species, all of which contribute invaluable, life-giving services to society. But soil is as fragile as it is abundant. A growing human population is driving…

How land is used affects a wide range of outcomes – from day-to-day quality of life, such as the length of commutes, to the environmental sustainability of urban and rural communities, including the possibility for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Moreover, the economic importance of land is immense. Land and the buildings on it are approximately seven times as valuable as all other…

A decade ago, FAO presented the results of a global review of watershed management projects carried out between 1990 and 2000. The new generation of watershed management programmes and projects, published in 2006, reflected the increasingly wide acceptance of watershed management as an integrated approach to environmental protection and development, addressing conservation of water, land and…

Biodiversity indicators are an essential tool for understanding and managing changes in biodiversity. Efforts by the private sector to develop biodiversity indicators have often focussed on measuring biodiversity management actions rather than measuring on the ground changes in the status of, and pressures on, biodiversity. This is largely due to methodological and data challenges. …