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This publication is derived from a collaboration between the Swiss NGO DRR Platform, the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Bern and WOCAT. Over recent decades, the NGOs of the Swiss NGO DRR Platform have been involved in DRR activities around the globe, many of which are directly or indirectly related to the use and management of land resources, including soils, water,…

Growing, higher income and more urbanised populations continue to demand a more varied and nutritionally balanced diet. The bio-economy, including renewable energy, also increases demand for food and agricultural products. While responding to these opportunities, the agriculture and food sector is confronting increased competition for natural resources, has to adapt to changing temperatures,…

Climate change could affect human livelihood and increase migration pressure in various parts of Africa, potentially posing a security threat in transit and destination regions. To investigate and influence the seemingly conflicting relationship between migration and climate change the paper discusses three concepts which integrate migration into the climate adaptation policy framework. The most…

Land comprises a range of biophysical components such as soil, water, flora, and fauna, embedded in a landscape shaped by its geomorphology and subjected to a climate that is often under different forms of human manipulation. Land provides natural habitats and serves many purposes – for agriculture, forestry, pastoralism, infrastructure development, mining, and tourism. Apart…

The interpretation and operationalization of LDN is still in its early stages. The idea of a “land degradation neutral world” (UNCCD, 2012) was first introduced to the international environmental arena at the Rio+20 conference. Several scholars and organizations have since discussed possible interpretations and implications of this topic (e.g. Welton et al., 2014; Altvater et al…

Fertile soils and productive land are limited—finite—resources. But there is an ever-growing demand for fertile land to feed a growing global population. Meeting this demand is becoming a massive global challenge due to two major factors. There is competition for productive land for other uses, such as wood, fiber, bioenergy, and urban growth. Then there is land degradation and the added risk of…