All publications and documents

Fighting land and soil degradation is in the mandate of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). However, it is often suggested that a lack of scientific guidance has resulted from inadequate institutional mechanisms to channel science into UNCCD decision making, rather than from a lack of research on UNCCD-related issues. To explore this issue in more depth, this study…

Policy relevance and interdisciplinarity are becoming integral to research on land degradationa nd development, at a time when the opportunities for scientists to inform policy and decision makers are greater than ever before.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has lacked an efficient mechanism to access scientific knowledge since entering into force in 1996. In 2011 it decided to convene an Ad Hoc Working Group on Scientific Advice (AGSA) and gave it a unique challenge: to design a new mechanism for science-policy communication based on the best available scientific evidence. This paper…

The world's commitment towards land degradation neutrality (LDN) became enshrined in various international agreements and decisions throughout the year 2015. The challenge now becomes one of addressing its operation, in order to achieve these new policy goals and targets by the year 2030. Advancing LDN demands attention to what the concept seeks to achieve, as well as unravelling the perspectives…

Droughts are a global phenomenon and affect countries in every region of the world. Globally, the area affected by drought is increasing every year. Over the Mediterranean region, drying may be increasing. Globally, droughts are also becoming more severe and frequent. Droughts are more frequent over the East Coast of the United States of…

Monitoring and evaluation refers to evidence-based measurement of the achievement of planned results. It enables a timely recognition and correction of problems in delivering a given task, and the identification of successful practices that can be strengthened and replicated.  Monitoring and evaluation increases the likelihood of a continuous delivery of tangible results.