News & stories

As the UN Convention to Combat Desertification celebrates its 25th year, the 2019 Land for Life Award will be dedicated to “Decades of Impact”. We will recognize efforts that are contributing to land degradation neutrality on a large-scale, with long-term changes and dedicated actions for 25 years or longer and remarkable positive impacts on land, people, communities, and society as a whole. Deadline for nominations is 30 March 2019. More about the selection and nomination process...

The governments of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger are among the 44 countries that have already committed to develop their national drought plans in the framework of the new UNCCD Drought Initiative. The UNCCD secretariat, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) are all part of the framework for collaboration to support this UNCCD initiative on drought management. This includes technical and programmatic support along with knowledge-sharing. The first stage of the project included technical consultation meetings on the draft national drought plans that took place in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger  at the end of last year. Each plan will specify the process for dealing with drought and drought-related activities, such as early warning and forecasting, definition of trigger reporting levels, impact analyses, response recommendations and mitigation measures. In the event of a drought emergency, the plan will identify ways to mitigate the effects of disaster. Read more... Read more: Land and drought The Drought Initiative

Dear colleagues, On the occasion of the UNCCD 25th anniversary and within the implementation of its Gender Action Plan, the UNCCD secretariat is launching a campaign during the month of March to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.  Every day in the first half of March, we would like to publish stories that portray the work of your organization in empowering women and girls, particularly as described in the GAP. We would highly appreciate if you could share with us one or more of the following before 28 February: An image of the person or family empowered with a quote (140 characters)  An image with a short story (about 350 words)  A one-minute (60 seconds) video clip highlighting the featured person's work and achievements The best contributions will also be used as material for the campaign around the meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women and for the celebrations of the World Day to Combat Desertification on 17 June. You are welcome to send us good stories that you have published in your publications, but please make sure you provide proper referencing (the source of the story). Articles for publication will be selected as they arrive. We are looking for stories that are relevant and heroic. Here is a video on how to write a hero story. Please send us your material by email to cso@unccd.int  Thank you for your commitment to the UNCCD!

Istanbul, Türkiye – Public awareness event conducted by the UNCCD RCU for Northern Mediterranean on 15 February 2019 attracted 25 people who came to learn more about desertification and how it is addressed in Türkiye. Presenters Esra Bektaşoğlu and Büşra Öztürk described the work of UNCCD, how addressing land degradation can contribute to the mitigation of climate change and ways in which citizens can become involved to help address global issues.  Türkiye will be the host country of the 2019 observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification (#2019WDCD) on 17 June 2019. Please visit our website to see how this day is celebrated around the world and how you can support our quest for land degradation neutrality.  Read more:  World Day to Combat Desertification Achieving land degradation neutrality

Seoul, Republic of Korea – Deforestation, land degradation and increased natural disasters top the list of serious environmental issues that affect people’s livelihoods and the economic development of the North-East Asian region in general, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in particular.  Sustainable land management and achieving land degradation deutrality (LDN) as pathways to build long-term peace and cross-border understanding were explored by the panelists at the session on “Desertification in Northeast Asia and North Korea” which was held on 15 February during the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF2019). The panelists stressed the need of agroforestry approach and watershed management suitable for targeted ecosystems. Various practical measures to restore land and possible recommendations were shared. The session was organized by the Future Forest and the World Agroforestry Centre in cooperation with the UNCCD and Korea Forest Service. Read more: Achieving land degradation neutrality Sustainable land management

Dear UNCCD Focal Points and stakeholders,  I am pleased that my first message as the UNCCD Executive Secretary to you is about a very festive occasion.  17 June 2019 will mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The day has been celebrated as the World Day to Combat Desertification since 1995, a year after the Convention was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994. We would like to use this event as an opportunity to renew our collective commitment to restore the productivity of over 2 billion hectares of degraded land and improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people around the world.  Under the slogan « Let's grow the future together,” we will celebrate the 25 years of progress made by countries and people in sustainable land management. At the same time, we will take a look at the broad picture of the next 25 years where land degradation neutrality would hopefully be achieved as per SDG target 15.3. How do we envision the world where land degradation neutrality provides a solid basis for poverty reduction, food and water security and climate change mitigation and adaptation?  The concept note, logo and other materials are available on our website. The World Day to Combat Desertification page will be constantly updated.  I invite you to send us your plans to celebrate the Day to the following email address: WDCD2019@unccd.int. In particular, I encourage all UNCCD National Focal Points to report on the observance events planned in their country.  The global observance of Day and the 25th anniversary of the Convention will be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in Ankara, Türkiye. The event will be held in conjunction with the 19th International Soil Congress.   The 2019 Land for Life Award will be open for nominations soon to give global recognition to individuals, groups and countries that have made a significant and lasting contribution for achieving SDGs through sustainable land management over the past 25 years or longer.  For further inquiries, please contact Ms. Yukie Hori (yhori@unccd.int, +49 228 815 2829), Communication team leader/Spokesperson – External Relations, Policy and Advocacy Unit.  We look forward to celebrating the WDCD with you and reaching more people than ever before!  Ibrahim Thiaw  Executive Secretary