News & stories

Istanbul, Türkiye – Public awareness event conducted by the UNCCD RCU for Northern Mediterranean on 15 February 2019 attracted 25 people who came to learn more about desertification and how it is addressed in Türkiye. Presenters Esra Bektaşoğlu and Büşra Öztürk described the work of UNCCD, how addressing land degradation can contribute to the mitigation of climate change and ways in which citizens can become involved to help address global issues.  Türkiye will be the host country of the 2019 observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification (#2019WDCD) on 17 June 2019. Please visit our website to see how this day is celebrated around the world and how you can support our quest for land degradation neutrality.  Read more:  World Day to Combat Desertification Achieving land degradation neutrality

Seoul, Republic of Korea – Deforestation, land degradation and increased natural disasters top the list of serious environmental issues that affect people’s livelihoods and the economic development of the North-East Asian region in general, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in particular.  Sustainable land management and achieving land degradation deutrality (LDN) as pathways to build long-term peace and cross-border understanding were explored by the panelists at the session on “Desertification in Northeast Asia and North Korea” which was held on 15 February during the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF2019). The panelists stressed the need of agroforestry approach and watershed management suitable for targeted ecosystems. Various practical measures to restore land and possible recommendations were shared. The session was organized by the Future Forest and the World Agroforestry Centre in cooperation with the UNCCD and Korea Forest Service. Read more: Achieving land degradation neutrality Sustainable land management

Dear UNCCD Focal Points and stakeholders,  I am pleased that my first message as the UNCCD Executive Secretary to you is about a very festive occasion.  17 June 2019 will mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The day has been celebrated as the World Day to Combat Desertification since 1995, a year after the Convention was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994. We would like to use this event as an opportunity to renew our collective commitment to restore the productivity of over 2 billion hectares of degraded land and improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people around the world.  Under the slogan « Let's grow the future together,” we will celebrate the 25 years of progress made by countries and people in sustainable land management. At the same time, we will take a look at the broad picture of the next 25 years where land degradation neutrality would hopefully be achieved as per SDG target 15.3. How do we envision the world where land degradation neutrality provides a solid basis for poverty reduction, food and water security and climate change mitigation and adaptation?  The concept note, logo and other materials are available on our website. The World Day to Combat Desertification page will be constantly updated.  I invite you to send us your plans to celebrate the Day to the following email address: WDCD2019@unccd.int. In particular, I encourage all UNCCD National Focal Points to report on the observance events planned in their country.  The global observance of Day and the 25th anniversary of the Convention will be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in Ankara, Türkiye. The event will be held in conjunction with the 19th International Soil Congress.   The 2019 Land for Life Award will be open for nominations soon to give global recognition to individuals, groups and countries that have made a significant and lasting contribution for achieving SDGs through sustainable land management over the past 25 years or longer.  For further inquiries, please contact Ms. Yukie Hori (yhori@unccd.int, +49 228 815 2829), Communication team leader/Spokesperson – External Relations, Policy and Advocacy Unit.  We look forward to celebrating the WDCD with you and reaching more people than ever before!  Ibrahim Thiaw  Executive Secretary 

To reintegrate the returning migrants and create an alternative to migration for rural youth, The Republic of the Gambia recently submitted a project proposal to the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Impact Programme for USD5.3 million funding under the UNCCD 3S Initiative in collaboration with The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The project is expected to rehabilitate 50 000 hectares of land and create 25 000 green jobs over a five-year period for rural youth, returning migrants, farmers and small to medium scale entrepreneurs in agriculture, aquaculture, agroforestry and ecotourism. The project will be teaching sustainable forest and land management (SFLM) techniques and their application to degraded croplands, rice paddies, forests and fisheries.  The Gambian Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources will act as the executing agency to mobilize project stakeholders and address the environmental and socio-economic impacts that land degradation has on sustainability, security and stability in target communities. The project will conduct a small business incubator inviting youth and migrants to develop small businesses along the target land-based value chains, including rice production and distribution, wood lots for sustainable fuel wood production and supply contracts for local products that are sustainably produced and transported by local communities. The project is expected to work in collaboration with other initiatives in The Gambia targeted at migrants and unemployed rural youth. Read more More about 3S Initiative: Sustainability. Stability. Security 3S video (English with French/Arabic subtitles) 3S Initiative website Sustainable land management on UNCCD Knowledge Hub

Bonn, Germany – Reviving damaged lands and the livelihoods of people affected by desertification, land degradation and drought can be possible by 2030, according to participants who attended the 17th Committee to Review the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC17), which ended yesterday in Georgetown, Guyana. In the four years since countries reached the agreement to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030, 120 of the 169 countries affected by desertification, land degradation or drought have started identifying where to reduce the risk of degradation and where to recover degrading land. The Committee reviewed the first-of-its-kind global assessment of land degradation by governments, based on quantitative earth observation data collected and analyzed in at least 127 countries. CRIC17 laid out a range of actions that address issues such as land rights, drought and gender equality, for governments to consider and agree on when they meet in October of this year in New Delhi, India, during the 14th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP14). The Committee also thanked the outgoing Executive Secretary for her outstanding commitment and dedicated service. Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania has been announced as her successor. Read more: Full press release UNCCD CRIC17

Bonn, Germany – Reviving damaged lands and the livelihoods of people affected by desertification, land degradation and drought can be possible by 2030, according to participants who attended the intergovernmental committee that reviews the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).  Participants at the seventeenth Committee to Review the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC17), which ended yesterday in Georgetown, Guyana, stated that the speed at which countries are implementing the Sustainable Development Goal target of land degradation neutrality puts it within reach, and stated two other reasons. The process of setting the target at the country level has drawn in other land-related sectors at the country level, and triggering positive change. In addition, countries are spending more money on activities to contain land degradation and desertification and to manage drought effectively. In the four years since countries reached the agreement to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030, 120 of the 169 countries affected by desertification, land degradation or drought have started identifying where to reduce the risk of degradation and where to recover degrading land. The process of setting the 2030 country targets for LDN has broadened action to other land-related sectors. As a result, the Committee was able to review the first-of-its-kind global assessment of land degradation by governments, which is based on quantitative earth observation data collected and analyzed in at least 127 countries. The assessment’s uniqueness lies in that countries are working to measure and monitor three essential indicators of land degradation in the same way over the same period, so that the status of LDN can be determined for the globe. Based on the assessment, the Committee laid out a range of actions that address issues such as land rights, drought and gender equality, for governments to consider and agree on when they meet in September of this year in New Delhi, India, during the fourteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP14).  “We have seen a sea-change and huge progress” since the Convention was negotiated in 1994, said Monique Barbut, the UNCCD Executive Secretary, during the closing of the meeting.  “With a tiny budget we’re getting things done. We have the LDN fund up and running. We have LDN projects taking shape in more than hundred countries. A project preparation facility with the other Rio conventions is in the pipeline. Drought plans are being developed in nearly 50 countries. Land degradation and drought are recognized in the Global Compact on migration as key areas of concern,” Barbut said. Countries said “LDN is a visionary target” and expressed their satisfaction with this first collaborative analysis and assessment of land degradation. Many countries praised the achievements in data gathering and stressed the added value of the provided tools, which facilitated the use of national data to derive the indicators of land degradation using internationally standardized methodologies. However, many also called for the improvement of the tools, training in their application and support to generate more detailed national data. Barbut, whose term as head of the Convention ends in February, admitted she “was very suspicious and very tough about UNCCD and what it could achieve” in the very early days when she was part of the team that negotiated the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification. “But the potential of this convention has only just started to be realized,” she said, and urged countries to use their creativity and imagination to help amplify UNCCD and help it reach its full potential and stressed that “it is not an impossible ambition.” The Committee thanked the outgoing Executive Secretary for her contribution to raising the visibility of the Convention at a global level. In a statement released yesterday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked Barbut for “her outstanding commitment and dedicated service to the Organization,” and announced the appointment of Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania as her successor. The CRIC has met for its seventeenth session with 94 countries in attendance.  For more information about this press release, contact: wwischnewski@unccd.int