Resources

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…

Deforestation, land degradation, and unsustainable land management threaten our lives and are responsible, both directly and indirectly, for many economic, social and environmental issues. In particular, countries in Northeast Asia face the growing threats of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD). In China, it is estimated that “more than 40 per cent of Chinese arable land is…

The extensive arable land and great biodiversity present in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have the potential to ensure sustenance and a good quality of life for its more than 600 million inhabitants. LAC has experienced important changes in land use. When the Europeans arrived in the 15th century, the forest cover of LAC accounted for approximately 75 per cent of the territory. At…

Widespread land degradation threatens food production, water availability, biodiversity and energy security. When land is degraded and usable land becomes scarce, women are uniquely and differentially affected due to their substantial role in agriculture and food production, their reliance on forests, their greater vulnerability to poverty, and their typically weaker legal protections and…

In 2015, governments identified their priorities and objectives to achieve LDN, and then backed them with strong political statements. Reflecting that demand for urgent action, within a year, the Global Mechanism and the secretariat of the UNCCD and its international partners had established the LDN Target Setting Programme, which takes countries through a structured process to help leverage,…