In West Africa, many countries are adversely affected by the effects of desertification, land degradation and drought(DLDD), with climate change also increasingly making an impact on local livelihoods. The most visible consequences are a loss of soil fertility and a reduction in agricultural productivity, which can lead to food and social crises and, consequently, to increased poverty. Furthermore, farmers are often forced to exploit the land to its maximum capacity in order to obtain good yields and to avoid the risk of famine.

Established in 1994, the United Nations to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

Vast swathes of land, from Africa to the Middle East, are being left useless by climate shifts and human pressures such as deforestation, mining and farming, threatening to hike migration and conflict. The accelerating damage could cost the global economy a staggering $23 trillion by 2050 - and rich countries as well as poor will pay the price.

Interview with Ibrahim Thiaw

Growing external pressures from human activities and climate change can exacerbate desertification, compromising the livelihoods of more than 25% of the world’s population. The dryland mosaic is defined by land covers that do not behave similarly, and the identification of their recurring or irregular changes over time is crucial, especially in areas susceptible to become desertified.

This is the video of a specific side event at the UNCCD COP 15 that discusses the importance of land tenure rights to achieving land degradation neutrality. This session took place in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 12 May 2022.

Le Tchad est considéré comme le pays le plus vulnérable au changement climatique. Une combinaison de pauvreté élevée, de conflits fréquents, de systèmes de gouvernance faibles, à laquelle s’ajoutent les risques de sécheresse et d’inondations, font que le pays est confronté à de nombreuses urgences humanitaires et lutte notamment pour faire face aux onséquences du changement climatique. Le pays connaît des conflits internes et frontaliers récurrents qui aggravent encore davantage ses vulnérabilités, en mettant sous pression les infrastructures limitées et la cohésion sociale.

Réalisé conjointement par les secrétariats de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO) et de la Convention des Nations Unies sur la lutte contre la désertification (CNULCD), avec la contribution de multiples parties prenantes, ce guide technique traite de l’intégration des Directives volontaires pour une gouvernance responsable des régimes fonciers applicables aux terres, aux pêches et aux forêts dans le contexte de la sécurité alimentaire nationale (DV) dans la mise en oeuvre de la CNULCD et de la neutralité de la dégradation des terres (NDT), ouvrant ain

本技术指南由联合国粮食及农业组织（粮农组织）与《联合国防治荒漠化公约》共同编写，并吸纳了若干利益攸关方的意见和建议，旨在将《国家粮食安全范围内土地、渔业和森林权属负责任治理自愿准则》（《权属自愿准则》）纳入《公约》的执行和土地退化零增长目标，为荒漠化、土地退化和干旱应对工作开启了新的篇章。

本指南简要介绍了《权属自愿准则》（国际认可的负责任权属治理框架）在设计和实施土地退化零增长举措背景下的实际应用。指南提供了多个灵活途径，支持政策和决策制定者及利益攸关方通过着眼于应对土地退化的各类国家规划、法律框架、战略及行动计划，就普遍遇到的土地权属挑战采取因地制宜的响应措施。

Данное техническое руководство, подготовленное совместно секретариатами Продовольственной и сельскохозяйственной организации Объединенных Наций (ФАО) и Конвенции Организации Объединенных Наций по борьбе с опустыниванием (КБОООН) при участии многих заинтересованных сторон, посвящено интеграции Добровольных руководящих принципов ответственного регулирования вопросов владения и пользования земельными, рыбными и лесными ресурсами в контексте национальной продовольственной безопасности (ДРПРВ) в рамках реализации КБОООН и достижении нейтрального баланса деградации земель (НБДЗ), тем самым дополн

Integration of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets into the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the Intergovernmental Working Group report on land degradation neutrality

We cannot live without healthy soil and land. It is on these resources that we produce most of our food and build our homes. We need them to provide clean water and precious plant nutrients, to conserve biological diversity and to cope with climate change. And they form the basis for the livelihoods of millions of people. But despite such known facts, these valuable resources are in a dire state. A third of all soils world-wide are already degraded, and each year, further huge expanses of fertile land go lost.

The study  titled “Differentiated Impacts of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought on Women and Men” released this week at  COP15  has revealed that women are twice more affected by drought, land degradation, and deforestation. Drought and land degradation tend to increase the burden of unpaid care and domestic work shouldered by women and girls, which has also been further compounded by the coronavirus disease.