News & stories

Two years on since the One Planet Summit, 80 percent of the US$19 billion pledged towards the Great Green Wall Accelerator has been programmed across the 11 African nations that are part of the initiative. However, continued political leadership and country ownership, targeted action at all levels, and strengthened institutional arrangements are required to realize the vision of this Africa-led movement.

The 2022 reporting process has now concluded. We would like to thank all Parties for their efforts to submit national reports and are delighted with their active engagement in the process. We are now analyzing the reported data in preparation for CRIC21. PRAIS 4 is now closed for further submissions and submitted national reports can be found in Country Profiles. Additional national reports can be submitted on request via reporting@unccd.int. Please note these additional reports will not feature in the CRIC21 analysis but will be published on the UNCCD website upon submission. There will be no technical support or quality assurance for late submissions.  

It is easy for some to think that water simply comes from the tap, but this limited perspective fails to acknowledge the vital ecosystems from which our water comes. When rivers run dry or become polluted, when groundwater is over-exploited, and when ecosystems are degraded, it is only then that we begin to understand the true value of water.   As we mark World Water Day 2023, we are reminded of the indispensable role water plays in the lives of all living things on our planet. The urgent need for collective action to address the global water and sanitation crisis is reflected in this year's theme, Accelerating Change.   Despite an ambitious commitment to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, billions of people still lack access to safe water and sanitation. This situation is only going to get worse as we are looking to a hotter, drier future. A future where global demand for freshwater will outstrip supply by 40% by the end of this decade. A future where droughts—driven by climate change but also land degradation—will strike more often and hit even harder.  These problems do not discriminate. They affect countries and regions across all continents, from China to Chad, from Spain to Chile, from Australia to California here in the United States.  Healthy land is critical as we face a future of increasing weather extremes and human pressure. Through sustainable land management we can restore ecosystems, boost drought resilience and safeguard water resources for future generations.   The UN Water Conference that starts today is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set an ambitious Water Action Agenda. One that can foster a more resilient, equitable, and prosperous future by recognizing the interconnectedness of water, land, climate and nature.  On World Water Day 2023, we reaffirm our steadfast commitment to accelerate change and address the water and sanitation crisis that impacts every aspect of our lives. We call on governments, organizations, businesses, and individuals around the world to join forces, share knowledge, and accelerate change to ensure safe water and sanitation for all.  

Dear UNCCD Focal Points and Stakeholders, Women hold a vital stake in the health of the land, yet often don't have control over it. Across the world, women face significant barriers in securing land rights, limiting their ability to thrive and prosper. And when land becomes degraded and water is scarce, women are often the worst affected. The global focus of the 2023 Desertification and Drought Day is on women’s land rights— essential for achieving the interconnected global goals on gender equality and land degradation neutrality by 2030 as well as advancing other Sustainable Development Goals. Under the slogan “Her Land, Her Rights”, this year’s Desertification and Drought Day will send a strong message that investing in women’s equal access to land and related assets is a direct investment in their own future and the future of humanity. This year’s global observance of Desertification and Drought Day will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, with events taking place in all parts of the world. I count on your strong support to reach out to people and communities about the key role of gender equality in the sustainable future of land. You will find the announcement and background note in all UN languages on the 2023 Desertification and Drought Day webpage. I also invite you to support the campaign “Women, Girls and Land” that seeks to promote successful examples of women’s contributions to sustainable land management and mobilize action for stronger female leadership in combatting desertification, land degradation and drought. Visit https://www.unccd.int/land-and-life/gender/herland to learn more. Please send your plans for the observance event to communication@unccd.int, so that we can feature your activities on the UNCCD website. Further information will be shared in due course. Should you have any questions, please contact Ms. Xenya Scanlon, Chief of Communications, External Relations and Partnerships. On this year’s Desertification and Drought Day, let us unite our efforts to recognize and empower women and girls to be at the forefront of global land restoration and drought resilience efforts.

One year into the project, the collaboration between UNCCD, FAO, Aduna, Orgiis and GLOBHE already bears fruit: individual baobab trees can be now recognized from space and a computer system has been trained to plot them on a map. In the Sahel region, where trees play an important role in fixating soils, providing a barrier to land degradation and supporting food security, the baobab is particularly valued, as its fruit not only has a variety of local uses, but can also be a viable commercial export and a source of sustainable income. An icon of the African landscape revered as the tree of life, baobabs cannot be grown on plantations. Proudly standing big and wild, each one is unique and cherished by local communities, as it provides nourishment for people and their animals. Faced with the advance of the climate change, growing energy needs, rapid urbanization and a depleting stock of seedlings that grow to maturity, these green giants need to be carefully monitored and protected. Recent advances in the spatial resolution and availability of satellite imagery have enabled the detection of individual trees from space. Using FAO’s cloud computing platform SEPAL and dense time-series approaches helps identify individual tree species through phenology, or the seasonal foliage pattern, often unique to individual species. The next challenge was pinning down the actual locations of baobab trees and “training” a classification system to extrapolate and predict the tree species associated with each tree canopy. Drone data provided by GLOBHE at a very high spatial resolution allows identification of baobabs, and the  tree locations are then combined with the phenology data to map individual baobabs over vast geographic regions. The resulting maps can be used to inform local communities of the location, number and condition of the baobabs, and enable them “to visualize and analyze high resolution satellite imagery from their mobile phones, allowing to actively monitor and protect this natural resource,” says Yelena Finegold, FAO Forestry Officer. This collaboration between global satellite data providers, drone operators, the private enterprise, the UN and local communities, including women and youth, is a major step toward improving monitoring, conservation and restoration methods in the Sahel. As the project advances toward mapping the baobabs over larger geographical areas, it can also support the implementation of the Great Green Wall Initiative. Better understanding of where to conserve and invest in long-term sustainable use of baobabs can promote value chain development and enable better land management decisions to monitor and safeguard these green powerhouses that provide sustenance, store water and enrich the land. image (c) MakeWaves Media

ENGLISH By letter dated 14 March 2023, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirmed its willingness to host the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Conference will be held in Riyadh from 2 to 13 December 2024. In line with the provisions of decision 34/COP15 the UNCCD secretariat will now enter into consultation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the organization of COP16. Information on further arrangements for the session will be communicated to all Parties and observers in due time. FRANÇAIS Par lettre datée du 14 mars 2023, le Royaume d'Arabie saoudite a confirmé sa volonté d'accueillir la seizième session de la Conférence des Parties (COP16) à la convention des Nations Unies sur la Lutte contre la désertification (CNULCD) . La Conférence se tiendra à Riyad du 2 au 13 décembre 2024. Conformément aux dispositions de la décision 34/COP15, le secrétariat de la Convention entrera en consultation avec le Royaume d'Arabie saoudite pour l'organisation de la COP16. Des informations sur les autres dispositions à prendre pour la session seront communiquées à toutes les Parties et à tous les observateurs en temps opportun.   ESPAÑOL Mediante carta fechada el 14 de marzo de 2023, el Reino de Arabia Saudí confirmó su voluntad de acoger la decimosexta sesión de la Conferencia de las Partes (COP16) de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas de Lucha contra la Desertificación (CNULD). La Conferencia se celebrará en Riad del 2 al 13 de diciembre de 2024. En consonancia con las disposiciones de la decisión 34/COP15, la secretaría de la CLD iniciará consultas con el Reino de Arabia Saudí para la organización de la COP16. A su debido tiempo, se comunicará a todas las Partes y observadores información sobre los preparativos del período de sesiones.