News & stories

Senegalese singer and UNCCD Land Ambassador Baaba Maal believes that the future of Africa is in the hands of the youth. He is actively supporting the new narrative on the Sahel as the region of opportunities, rich in traditional culture and with a large potential for development in the management of natural resources as well as opportunities for youth, since close to two thirds of the population is under 35 years old. Through his concerts and social engagement, Baaba Maal uses the magic of his voice to bring people together and empower them to build a peaceful and prosperous future on land, harnessing the potential of the African traditions and new technologies. Read more: UNCCD Land Ambassadors Land and youth  

Statement by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw: All of our planet’s inhabitants – humanity, and all wildlife species – require water to survive. We learn very young that life cannot exist without water. Yet over 2 billion people still lack access to safe water today. This year’s World Water Day celebrates the theme ‘Valuing water.’ This fundamental need has enormous and complex value for our societies, households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the sustainability of our environment. Global water use has increased sixfold over the past 100 years, driven by intensive agriculture and population growth. The demand for water just in food production may reach 13 trillion cubic metres annually by 2050 – 3.5 times greater than the total human use today. The importance of water for land is obvious: humanity’s relentless production and consumption relies heavily on water use and is a prime cause of desertification and land degradation. In a warming world beset by weather extremes, droughts will become more common, more intense, and more prolonged in many places – including places already at the margins of habitability. Drought and desertification are not just problems for the global South. We already see impacts, and land degradation, in highly productive and populated parts of the developed world – including California, Spain and Australia. Land degradation and desertification reduce evapotranspiration, disrupting regional rainfall patterns. In contrast, healthy land promotes consistent seasonal and annual rainfall and aids flood mitigation, soil health and aquifer recharge, helping to bring back landscapes from the brink. The UNCCD’s Drought Initiative is working globally to support our Parties to develop drought preparedness systems, spearheading regional efforts to reduce drought vulnerability and risk. Our Drought toolbox provides resources to support actions that aim to boost the resilience of people and ecosystems. Land restoration is a vital ally to World Water Day. As we celebrate today, let’s remember that we must value water and land equally as part of the same challenge – to build a better, more equal, healthier planet post COVID-19.

UNCCD relies on the input of expert women in implementing its mandate. In particular, the members of our Science-Policy interface (SPI), which guides the application of world-leading science into meaningful and impactful policy that we, our Parties, and our partners can use on the ground. The SPI includes female specialists in desertification, forestry, soil, dust-modelling and weather extremes. Guided by all these women, the UNCCD continues to strive for a better, more equal world. During the month of March, we are featuring them here: Nichole Barger is an ecologist who works in partnership with diverse entities in the US on land degradation and restoration issues such as the ecological risks of fire mitigation treatments, historical drivers and biogeochemical responses to woody plant encroachment, forest decline and regeneration, and more recently restoration of degraded dryland ecosystems with a specific focus on soil ecology Anna Luise is working in Romeat ISPRA – Institute for the Environmental Protection and Research (Italy’s environmental agency) on issues related to sustainable development at local, national and global level, the assessment of the environmental damage, the monitoring, evaluation and governance issues related to sustainability issues, land degradation and desertification, the analysis of policies and the development of indicators, playing a role of technical support in decision and policymaking processes as well as in the negotiation within the UNCCD. She is Italy’s science and technology correspondent for the convention  Everlyne Nairesiae is a social scientist known for her contribution in coordinating and facilitating global networks, development of global methodologies and tools for  land governance, including monitoring of land in the SDGs and impact evaluation; research and analytical frameworks and strategies for mainstreaming gender in natural resource governance and management; and capacity development for governments, CSOs and other actors. Caroline King-Okumu's expertise includes work on institutional, policy and economic aspects of global environmental challenges with focus on land, water and climate-related issues in the global drylands, especially in Africa. She works with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on international development issues and business cases for the environment. Katrin Ehlert is an environmental scientist with over eight years research and consultancy experience in the field of soil protection in the context of agricultural usages,  soil and water quality assessments and environmental impact studies. Katrin is part of tech support unit at the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) which works with stakeholders globally and on all levels to develop drought early warning systems and policies Karma Dema Dorji serves as the Programme Director of the National Soil Services Centre in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests in Bhutan which works on sustainable aspects of soil and land management to achieve food security and protect the country’s pristine environment. As the national focal point for UNCCD, Ms. Dorji oversees the fulfillment of the Convention’s requirements, including the development of the national action program to combat land degradation and national reporting Marijana Kapović Solomun is a member of UNCCD Roster of experts, LDN national expert for Bosnia and Herzegovina and expert for the national drought management plan. Dr. Kapović Solomun has broad international and national experience in scientific projects, as leader or expert for soil, land degradation and forestry, who published significant number of scientific papers  Read more: UNCCD Science-Policy Interface

Updated just in time for CRIC19, the UNCCD conference will be indispensable to the participants of the first-ever fully virtual gathering of the convention Parties in March.

Ricky Kej is known internationally as a music composer, No.1 artist on the US Billboard chart and a Grammy Award winner. Committed to creating awareness on environmental and social causes, he composed UNCCD Land Anthem that showcases his strong dedication to music as a powerful catalyst that moves people from understanding their environmental responsibilities to making everyday decisions that mean taking less from nature: "Exceptional situations call for exceptional response. We must reflect on how we, as individuals and as global communities, can make a significant positive change  and use our talents and creativity to inspire action." — Ricky Kej Read more: UNCCD Land Anthem UNCCD Land Ambassadors Anniversary of Paris Agreement: Land Ambassador shares memories

This year UNCCD Science-Policy Interface member Dr. Rattan Lal has received the prestigious civilian Padma Shri Award from the Indian government for his revolutionary research in the field of soil science, which helped millions of smallholder farmers produce larger yields while taking better care of their land. The innovative soil-saving techniques developed by Dr. Lal have helped improve food and nutritional security of more than two billion people, saved hundreds of millions of hectares of natural tropical ecosystems, promoted restoration of degraded soils and aided in reducing global warming. Dr. Lal's achievements have been previously recognized by the World Food Prize. Read more: Padma Shri Awards 2021 Dr. Lal wins the 2020 World Food Prize Dr. Lal featured by Ohio State University PBS presents the 2020 World Food Prize UNCCD Science-Policy Interface Land and climate