Resources

Land use change is the primary transmission pathway for emerging infectious diseases, and the rate of land conversion is accelerating. Moreover, the foundation for building back better in the face of climate change and the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic will be centered upon future land use decisions. The good news is that governments around the world have already initiated

This report presents the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) vision created by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and shows how SIDS are linking their sustainable land management agendas with areas relevant to achieving their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Land-use management and the urbanization process are very complex issues for SIDS due to their limited land resources, and the…

Many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have committed to establishing national voluntary LDN targets. By establishing LDN targets, SIDS have defined their ambitions and key priorities to address land degradation. The LDN target setting process allowed national stakeholders to systematically analyze the causes and effects of land degradation and…

Water scarcity is already widespread and remains on the rise: it is found in nearly every region in the world. Around 36% of the world’s population is currently living in water-scarce regions. This publication shows that avoiding, reducing and reversing land degradation have positive long-term gains in water security. As land degradation and water scarcity are closely linked, and water is the…

Land degradation and biodiversity loss are among the most pressing environmental challenges facing humanity. Land degradation has reduced the productivity of nearly one-quarter of the global land surface, impacted the wellbeing of about 3.2 billion people and cost about 10% of annual global gross domestic product in lost ecosystem services. An estimated 23% of total anthropogenic greenhouse…

Protecting mountain ecosystems, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and ensuring food security are all global priorities. To this end, Sustainable Development Goal 15 aims to promote actions that ensure the sound and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems by promoting actions to control land degradation and maintain healthy vegetation cover. In 2018, action was…

Climate- and human-induced land degradation endangers the future survival of our planet. A new focus on achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) seeks to spark and grow transformative efforts to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation through gender- and socially-equitable means. As of July 2019, 122 countries of the 169 countries directly affected by desertification, land degradation or…

This guide represents the first effort to gather, in a practical and pragmatic manner, all relevant information related to the development and implementation of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Transformative Projects and Programmes. Countries can use this document for the identification and design of interventions to address land degradation, as well as to guide their dialogue with funding…

Located in the arid and semi-arid areas of West Africa, the Sahel has undergone profound changes over the past 50 years. Known for the prevalence of land degradation processes, the Sahel is suffering from the combined negative effects of population growth, human activities and climate variability, resulting in recurrent droughts and the continued decline of natural resources and land…