Governments and Policy
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UNCCD Announces Three Winners for First Land for Life Award
The UNCCD has announced three winners for its first Land for Life Award, shining a spotlight on organizations that show tangible evidence combating land degradation.The winners were announced by Miss Universe Leila Lopes from Angola at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio 20, in the Rio Conventions Pavilion. The announcement also marked the global observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification on 17 June. The winners will share a prize fund of 100,000 USD. Continue Reading
Is Africa’s future evergreen?
By Torben Timmermann for CCAFSJune 18, 2012“Re-greening of dry lands is not expensive and it is not technically difficult. In fact it is being done and it is fundamental to make smallholder farmers more productive, profitable and more resilient”. Continue Reading
We’re turning our land to sand
By 2030, global food needs will grow by 50 per cent, water by 30 per cent and energy demand by 45 per cent, claiming more productive land.But every year, 12 million hectares of land is lost through desertification and drought alone. This is an area half the size of United Kingdom and could produce 20 million tonnes of grain per year. Globally, about 75 billion tonnes of fertile soil is lost forever each year. Overall, about 1.5 billion people live off degrading land, of whom 74 per cent are the poor. Continue Reading
‘Desertification is nearly as critical as climate change’ – Dr. Mansour N’Diaye
Dr. Mansour N'Diaye, Chef De Cabinet of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) secretariat, on the need for setting a sustainable development goal of “zero net land degradation by 2030” at the Rio+20 meet.Click here to read more. Continue Reading
Sprouting success in Senegal: trees offer growing solution to Sahel
Farmers are finding that restoring soils with trees boosts crops in a region where drought has caused successive food crisesClick here to read more. Continue Reading
Rio+20 Business Focus: Adopting Climate Smart Agriculture for Sustainable Development
Combined with carbon sequestration programs and forest preservation, the approach of integrating climate resilient investments within farming is part of a growing suite of policies and practices known as Climate Smart Agriculture.The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has defined Climate Smart Agriculture as “agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation) while enhancing the achievement of national food security and development goals.” Continue Reading