The UNCCD 3rd Scientific  Conference,  held  from  9  to  12  March  2015  in  Cancún,  Mexico,  used  a novel,  participatory  approach  to  explore  the  various  forms  of  knowledge  that  link  biophysical  and  social systems,   the   vulnerabilities   of   these   systems   and   potential   pathways   to   reach   sustainable   land management.

Becoming land degradation neutral is not simply about restoring degraded lands. It is about self interest making sure the land can still provide food and fresh water for us, our children, and to the third and fourth generations. It is about giving every child, from Mongolia to Afghanistan and from Ethiopia to China, the fighting chance for a better life. If this all sounds too good to be true, read this book.

This document, titled Closing the Enforcement Gap: Groundtruthing of Environmental Violations in Sarguja, Chhattisgarh,is the second in the series of community led groundtruthing exercises carried out by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-Namati Environmental Justice Program in partnership with Janabhivyakti and Hasdeo Arand Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (HABSS).

Land degradation is accelerating and drought is escalating worldwide. At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders clearly acknowledged that desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) are challenges of a global dimension affecting the sustainable development of all countries, in particular developing countries. In view of this, they committed to strive to achieve a land-degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable development and to monitor land degradation globally (paragraphs 205–207 of “The future we want”).

La degradación de la tierra se está acelerando, y las sequías van en aumento en todo el mundo. En la conferencia Río+20, los dirigentes mundiales reconocieron sin ambages que la desertificación, la degradación de la tierra y la sequía son problemas de dimensión mundial que afectan al desarrollo sostenible de todos los países, en particular los que están en desarrollo.

Dry forests play an important role in preventing land degradation and desertification, conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem goods and services and mitigating and adapting to climate change and the impacts of drought. To make use of the promising potential of forests and agroforestry schemes in arid areas they need to be fully included in the REDD+ mechanism with a special focus on the co-benefits.

Les forêts sèches jouent un rôle important pour la prévention de la dégradation des terres et de la désertification, la conservation de la biodiversité, la production de biens et de services écosystémiques ainsi que l’atténuation des changements climatiques et des incidences des sécheresses et l’adaptation à ceux-ci. Il convient de les intégrer globalement dans le mécanisme REDD+ en s’attachant en particulier aux avantages associés afin d’exploiter le potentiel prometteur des forêts et des techniques agroforestières dans les zones arides

Los bosques secos desempeñan una importante labor en la prevención de la degradación de la tierra y la desertificación, la conservación de la biodiversidad y el abastecimiento de bienes y servicios al ecosistema, así como en la mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático y en los impactos de la sequía. Para aprovechar el prometedor potencial de los bosques y de los esquemas de agrosilvicultura en zonas áridas éstos deben estar totalmente integrados en el mecanismo REDD+, tomando especial atención a los co-beneficios.

The UNCCD Advocacy Policy Framework (APF) on gender, approved by the COP10 (Decision 9), demonstrates the benefits of mainstreaming gender in Desertification/Land Degradation and Drought (DDLD)/ Sustainable Land Management (SLM) actions at national and local levels. The framework recognizes that gender mainstreaming has to take place at various levels involving multiple stakeholders. It is through the full participation of local people, especially women, that the efforts efforts to combat desertification can be most effective.

The study assessed the socio-economic impact of the project supported by UNDP and the Government of Madhya Pradesh to support local communities in rehabilitating degraded forest, generating sustainable livelihoods and protecting the areas rich ecosystem. The project was supported by the Global Environment Facility.

The study assessed the biodiversity impact of the project supported by UNDP and the Government of Madhya Pradesh to support local communities in rehabilitating degraded forest, generating sustainable livelihoods and protecting the areas rich ecosystem. The project was supported by the Global Environment Facility.

Desertification/land degradation is rarely accounted for as an economic issue, and drought barely accounted for as a disaster. Because desertification, land degradation and drought are slow and silent phenomena, they have a way of creeping up on us and thereby leading us to underestimate their socio-economic impacts.