Stories

Beijing, China – Land degradation is a serious threat to the stability of communities and nations, and to peace and security throughout the international community. Land degradation neutrality (LDN), which is SDG Target 15.3 of SDG 15 Life on Land, is both an integrator and an accelerator of the other SDGs. Countries that implement the LDN targets stand the best chance of, at once, achieving the other SGDs and breaking from the past unsustainable development paths.  Stressing the need to approach land degradation, climate action and sustainable development holistically. Dr. Pradeep Monga, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCCD, recently spoke to the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) about the landscape approaches in agriculture. He emphasized that one of the biggest global challenge today s is to address the economic, social and ecological aspects of land restoration simultaneously, providing sustainable jobs and income generation while protecting ecosystems.  Recent INBAR report shows that bamboo planting can provide an attractive option for land restoration, having shown positive environmental and socio-economic effects in several countries. With its long root systems, ability to grow on degraded soils and steep slopes, and extremely fast growth, bamboo can quickly revegetate even the most damaged landscapes – for example, former brickmaking sites in India and degraded mining areas in Ghana. Along with environmental benefits, planting bamboo can benefit local communities by bringing tourists, generating income and creating thousands of jobs. All this makes bamboo planting a strong choice for reaching a range of sustainable development objectives, such as poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation, land restoration, earthquake-resilient construction and low-carbon product creation. Read more: Dr. Monga’s full interview with INBAR Land degradation neutrality Land and climate change Land and SDGs

New York, United States – During the most recent drought in East and Southern Africa in 2016, an estimated 17.6 million and 41 million people in these regions respectively, needed assistance. It was the worst drought in Southern Africa in 35 years.  Projections that future droughts will increase in frequency, intensity, duration and spread have alarmed policymakers concerned by the impact this could have on reaching the 2030 target of achieving land degradation neutrality. This target is recognized by as critical in accelerating achievement of many of the other Sustainable Development Goals. In light of this, the Permanent Representatives of the member countries of the Group of Friends of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (GOF/DLDD) are organizing a high-level event today on this issue in the sidelines of the Ministerial High-Level Political Forum underway at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States.  Drought preparedness, regional efforts to reduce drought vulnerability and risk, and tools to boost the resilience of people and ecosystems to drought are particularly high on the agenda of the event titled, Addressing the challenges of drought in the context of achieving land degradation neutrality, which will take place from 13:15-14:45hrs on Monday, 16 July 2018, at the Permanent Mission of Canada.  The event is organized in collaboration with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and co-hosted by Iceland, Namibia, Canada and Germany. The objective is "to take stock of progress made in addressing the challenges of drought and to provide guidance on drought preparedness, reducing vulnerability and risks, as well as resilience, as building blocks for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular achievement of the SDG target on land degradation neutrality." An estimated 296 large-scale drought events – those greater than 500,000 km2 and longer than 3 months – were reported across the world between 1950 and 2000. The global economic losses recorded from drought disasters recorded between 1900 and 2013 totaled USD 135 billion, according to the Global Land Outlook. A recent World Bank report estimates that if no action is taken, more than 143 million people could be displaced by 2050. Drought is viewed as one of a few risks that could lead to high loss and damage in light of the growing number of poor people getting exposed to extreme droughts linked to climate change.  For more information, read the Concept Note. Further information about the event contact: Melchiade Bukuru, bukuru@un.org For media interviews, contact: Wagaki Wischnewski, wwischnewski@unccd.int. For journalists in New York, contact, lbaker@unccd.int.

Bonn, Germany – The 2018WDCD campaign "Land has true value. Invest in it" ran from 1-30 June, 2018 to raise awareness of the impact that our everyday choices can have on land resources and the role that wise investments in land, such as bio-economy, can play in shaping our future. The campaign's total social media outreach included 5 620 995 people with active engagement of 581 541 through likes, re-tweets, re-posst, posts, hashtags of #2018WDCD and #ContraLaDesertification.  The campaign also included more than 80 live events around the world. Learn more: World Day to Combat Desertification 2018WDCD global observance in Ecuador 2018WDCD thank you video 2018WDCD photo album 2018 media report  

On Thursday the 5th July 2018, the UNCCD Secretariat, represented by its Capacity Building Marketplace (CBM) hosted students from the University of Bonn, completing the Masters in Agricultural and Food Economics (AFECO). During this visit the students and their accompany Professor, Jan Börner were exposed to a three and half intense and inspiring session of formal presentations, and informal talks and conversations on many subjects, ranging  from the role of youth in the UNCCD process, to the importance of land in achieving the Sustainable Developments Goals. They also met with several officials of the UNCCD working in various fields from top management, all the way to young people of their ages doing internships at the Secretariat.

Doha, Qatar – The first national workshop on combating desertification and land degradation, organized by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) and the UNCCD, took place on 1–4 July 2018, attracting a lot of media attention and bringing together technical experts, representatives of ministries, institutions and governmental bodies. The workshop was organized to train teams involved in national reporting as well as aligning Qatari national strategy for combating desertification with the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework. The importance of using the three land-based indicators to monitor the progress towards halting land degradation in Qatar received particular attention. The participants also went on a field trip to visit wetlands, mangroves and a sea turtle reserve, and witness some of the national initiatives for protecting natural resources and biodiversity in Qatar.  Read more: UNCCD reporting process

Muscat, Oman – A national workshop, organized by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) took place on 25-28 June 2018, bringing together participants from the ministries of agriculture and planning, the national statistics office (NSO), as well as the academia to discuss UNCCD reporting and the national strategy. The workshop paid tribute to the World Day to Combat Desertification 2018, focusing on the importance of fighting desertification in the Sultanate and protecting productive land by encouraging innovative investments. Participants also discussed technical details of the national reporting process and ways to improve the national strategy by aligning it with the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework and including the three land-based indicators to monitor progress towards halting land degradation. Two field trips were also organized as part of the workshop: the visit to a plantation that is part of the “one million palm tree initiative, ” a convincing example of a transformative project. Another trip took workshop participants to the new botanical garden, which is scheduled to open in 2020 and will feature one of the largest regional seed banks, established to preserve native species of plants.  Read more: National action programme UNCCD reporting process