All publications and documents

The global economy has suffered a significant slowdown amid prolonged trade disputes and wide-ranging policy uncertainties. While a slight uptick in economic activity is forecast for 2020, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020 warns that economic risks remain strongly tilted to the downside, aggravated by deepening political polarization and increasing scepticism over the benefits of…

The new year 2020 marks the beginning of a promising decade for Africa. Through at least the first half of the decade, economic growth across Africa will continue to outperform that of other regions, with the continent continuing to be home to seven of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies. Collective action among African and global policymakers to improve the livelihoods of all under the…

The official launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 ushered in a period of remarkable transformations in Central Asia. The development of new regional transit corridors linking north to south and east to west and the modernization of telecommunications networks are connecting the people in the region to each other and to the rest of the world. Chinese investments and technologies provide…

Land degradation threatens the livelihoods and the food and nutrition security of the poorest, most vulnerable smallholder farmers and pastoralists. As a result, migration is accelerating, with an estimated 60 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa at risk of being displaced by desertification and land degradation by 2050. Restoration of degraded land can be a key pathway to achieving…

Managing land and water together is going to be key to reversing land degradation worldwide. Wetlands are critical for people and ecosystems. This has become crystal clear in dryland areas such as around Lake Chad and the Aral Sea. The collapse of these wetland ecosystems has adversely affected the land, biological diversity and the well-being of the people. Water Lands presents a compelling and…

The degradation of nature can lead to gender-based violence including sexual assault, domestic violence and forced prostitution, according to a new IUCN study published 29 January 2020. Competition over increasingly scarce and degraded resources can exacerbate these forms of violence, the review study finds. Environmental degradation now affects our lives in ways that are becoming…