All publications and documents

Productive soils and clean water are essential elements for economic and social prosperity and environmental sustainability. Throughout history, civilizations have thrived or collapsed based on the availability of these vital resources. The lack of arable land and evidence of soil degradation have been identified as causes for the fall of many ancient civilizations, such as those in Mesopotamia,…

For UNCCD publications (1997-2015), pls. visit the link below or search the Library Online Catalogue

It is no accident that our planet is called Earth. All terrestrial life depends on the fragile, friable crust of soil that coats the continents. This precious covering is painfully slow to form and can be destroyed terrifyingly fast. Just a single inch of soil can take centuries to build up! But, if mistreated, it can be blown and washed away in a few seasons. And earth is now rapidly vanishing…

The World Atlas of Desertification summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge on the drylands of the globe. The Atlas clearly shows that desertification is one of the world's most pressing environmental problems, and that it is a global issue which is accelerating. The global extent of the problem of desertification was indicated in the first edition of the World Atlas of…

This study was written by Richard T. Kingsford on assignment from the Ramsar Bureau as a briefing paper for distribution at the First COP of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Rome, 29 September to 10 October 1997. It is a particularly valuable effort in that it both surveys the relationships between wetland conservation and concern for the threats of desertification…

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) is one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific serials. Since its establishment in 1914, it continues to publish cutting-edge research reports, commentaries, reviews, perspectives, colloquium papers, and actions of the Academy. Coverage in PNAS spans the biological, physical, and social sciences…