Maseru, Lesotho. 4 March 2014 – “Too often in the past, we have exploited, ignored and come into conflict with the needs of our environment,” said Khotso Matla, Minister of Forestry and Land Reclamation of the Kingdom of Lesotho during the observance of African Environment Day/Wangari Maathai Day which was held yesterday. This year, Lesotho in…
Maseru, Lesotho, 3 March 2014 – To mark Africa Environment Day, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has issued Desertification: The invisible frontline, a publication showing the link between desertification, climate change and the growing threats to national and international security.
Bonn, Germany, 9 January 2014 – Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland, has accepted her designation as Drylands Ambassador of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) for at least two years, to promote the shift towards sustainable land management practices globally and better livelihoods for rural women in the drylands.
More partnerships and investment are needed to support the pan-African partnership to tackle desertification and land degradation
Rome, Italy, 16 December 2013 – The Great Green Wall initiative is hosting an international forum to build new partnerships and accelerate progress in tackling one of this century’s defining development challenges –…
Warsaw, Poland, 19 November 2013 – ‘Land belongs to the future, let’s climate proof it!’ is the slogan for next year’s World Day to Combat Desertification and drought. It captures the theme of ecosystem-based adaptation for 2014 and underscores the urgent need for action to protect healthy ecosystems and to manage productive land sustainably.
Bonn, Germany, 14 October 2013 – His Excellency Pedro Pires, former President of Cape Verde, has accepted his designation as UNCCD Drylands Ambassador.
“Sustainable Land Management, particularly the fight against desertification, land degradation and drought are major priorities for Africa,” Pires said in his acceptance message, noting further…
Ghent, Belgium, 17 July 2013 – Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification this morning called for action at the policy and grassroots profits in order to mitigate the effects of drought, and to combat desertification and land degradation effectively.
“On the ground, we must help local communities adopt and scale…
Top sustainable land management prize totaling USD 100,000 goes to development organizations in India, Mexico and Australia
Ghent, Belgium, 17 June 2013 – For the second year running, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced the winners of the 2013 Land for Life Award with a USD 100,000 cash award, to shine…
Bonn, Germany, 6 May 2013 – The secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is pleased to announce the 16 semi-finalists of this year’s Land for Life Award. The semi-finalists are from 13 countries - Australia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and…
Bonn, Germany, 19 April 2013 – A major conference of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), convened onto assess progress in the implementation of the Convention’s 10-Year Strategy and to find ways to enable affected countries to better address desertification and drought, concluded today with success.
Bonn, Germany, 18 April 2013 – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) today signed an agreement to collaborate in the nuclear technologies to strengthen the assessment of soil erosion and monitor improvements over time.
The Practical Arrangement, as it is known, was signed by…
Bonn, Germany, 14 April 2013 – Desertification, the degradation of the land in the world’s dryland areas, now affects 168 countries that are Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the latest reports submitted by the Parties show. This is much higher than previous estimations of 110 countries.
Geneva, Switzerland, 15 March 2013 – A top-level United Nations conference has, for the first time, laid the foundations for practical and proactive national drought policies to increase resilience to the world’s most destructive natural hazard, which is being aggravated by climate change.
The High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy marked…
Capturing the True Value of Land: Kigali to host international workshop on natural capital valuation
Kigali, Rwanda, 7 December 2012 – The OSLO Consortium, the Global Mechanism, UNECA and the Land Policy Initiative, with support from the UNCCD, the Economics of Land Degradation, the Government of Norway, the European Economic Commission, and…
Doha, Qatar, 4 December 2012 – Three civil society organizations, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) from Haiti, Conservation Efforts for Community Development (CECOD) from Uganda and the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion (TEMA) of Turkey took home international recognition and financial awards totaling 100,000 United…
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13 June 2012 – At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the secretariats of the biodiversity, climate change and desertification conventions and the Global Environment Facility are joining forces under the Rio Conventions Pavilion to promote implementation of these three multilateral…
Chifeng, China/Bonn, Germany, 23 May 2012 – The international community needs to agree on a sustainable development goal with a measurable target of achieving zero net land degradation by 2030. Such a bold decision would enhance efforts in all regions of the world to restore degraded land and sustainably manage non-degraded land by means of…
Bonn, Germany, 17 February 2012 – The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) announced the theme for the 2012 World Day to Combat Desertification, which will be celebrated on 17 June all over the world.
UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja presented the slogan for the 2012 World Day to Combat Desertification – “Healthy…
Bonn, Germany, 14 February 2012 – UNCCD Secretariat with EarthAction and The Global Citizens Initiative (TGCI) will organize a Virtual World Community Forum on Desertification and Citizen Action – Saving the Life-Giving Soils of the World that will take place Tuesday, February 28 through Tuesday, March 6, 2012. This online forum is being made…