All publications and documents

This working paper describes the interconnections (the “nexus”) between land tenure and land restoration, and how secure tenure is needed to avoid, reduce or reverse land degradation. It draws on case studies in 12 countries, as well as the wider literature, to show the importance of tenure rights in restoration work. At the core of the suggested approach to restoration are concerns about how…

Perverse incentives are policies or practices that encourage resource uses that lead to the degradation of biological diversity. They include subsidies, policies and the lack of regulation, and market failures leading to under- or overpricing of products. This working paper categorizes perverse incentives, discusses how to measure land degradation and the effect that perverse incentives…

To become more resilient, conventional food systems must change. This is vital in the face of growing challenges such as climate change, economic crises, conflict, and major events including the COVID-19 pandemic. This working paper presents one overarching conclusion to building resilient food systems that contribute to land restoration.

When land is degraded and becomes scarce, women and girls are uniquely and differentially affected due to the major role they play in agriculture and food production, their heavy reliance on forests, their vulnerability to poverty, their lack of education, and their typically weak legal protections and social status. Mainstreaming gender responsiveness into land-restoration practice has…

Strong linkages exist between the emergence of infectious diseases and changes in land use. More than 60% of new infectious diseases of humans are transmitted by animals, and most originated in wildlife. The risk of transmission of viruses from animals to humans is higher than ever as people clear forests and fragment habitat to grow crops, keep livestock, and harvest timber and other natural…

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa