Latest news & stories
Droughts have decimated communities and livelihoods in Africa for long. This year alone, over 45 million people across Africa, mostly in Eastern and Southern Africa, are food insecure due to prolonged droughts. The Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) announced they will collaborate to support the development of financial tools to help Africa to adapt and become resilient to future drought and other extreme weather events.
At its tenth meeting, the Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDG indicators (IAEG-SDGs) upgraded indicator 15.3.1 (proportion of land that is degraded over total land area) to Tier One status based on the reporting of the UNCCD, the custodian agency for this indicator. This means that the indicator is conceptually clear, has an internationally established methodology and standards are available, and data are regularly produced by countries for at least 50 per cent of countries and of the population in every region where the indicator is relevant. Based on the UNCCD national reports of 2018, the UNCCD secretariat reported regional and globally to the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2019. This included data generated by 123 countries and estimates for an additional 42 countries. Read more: The storyline and graphic The metadata document for SDG indicator 15.3.1
Disasters – from droughts and dust storms to hurricanes and floods – are becoming more frequent and more severe as our planet warms. They bring a high cost to human life, economies, and ecosystems. But how we deal with these disasters is not keeping pace.
This Saturday, the UNCCD team took the Market Square in the center of Bonn by storm, staging a hugely successful flashmob to celebrate the UN Day.
Bonn, Germany – Recognizing that ecosystem restoration is one of the most cost-effective solutions for achieving sustainable development, the UNCCD welcomes the publication of the International Restoration Standards developed by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). As noted by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, there is a significant potential for these standards to assist countries in achieving their Land Degradation Neutrality targets under Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Life on Land.” On the eve of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), there is a definite need for a scientific and principled approach to guide all stakeholders in taking effective restorative actions and ensuring sustained impact for people and nature. Read more: SER press release Land and SDGs
The deadline for the poster competition launched by the UNCCD Capacity Building Marketplace team has been extended until 31 October 2019.