United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

Up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded. Between 2015 and 2019, at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land were degraded every year—a cumulative area twice the size of Greenland. Droughts are hitting more often and harder all over the world, driven or amplified by both climate change and poor land management.

Restoring degraded land and soil, and investing in drought resilience, are some of the most cost-effective actions countries can take to reduce the high human, social and economic impacts of drought—simultaneously increasing food, water and energy security while reducing displacement and conflict drivers. Thirty years ago, with the adoption of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), countries agreed to walk together down this path. 

What Drives Land Degradation and Desertification? 

Land degradation is the long-term decline in the quality of land that leads to the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity of land. In the drylands, land degradation is known as desertification. According to the Global Land Outlook, drylands cover more than 45% of the Earth’s land surface, provide 44% of the world’s agriculture, support 50% of the world’s livestock, and are home to one in three people worldwide. Experts estimate that, if not reversed, land degradation will drive 700 million people out of their homes by 2050 because they will no longer be able to feed themselves or have access to sufficient water.

The dominant drivers of land degradation include agriculture and related land-use changes, unsustainable management or over-exploitation of resources, natural vegetation clearance, nutrient depletion, overgrazing, inappropriate irrigation, excessive use of agrochemicals, urban sprawl, pollution, mining and quarrying, among others. 

Deforestation is one of the most significant causes of land degradation. Tree roots help bind soil particles, thus maintaining their quality. When trees are cut down, the soil particles tend to disperse, negatively impacting the quality of the soil. 

Another driver of land degradation is a lack of land tenure security. When people own their land, they are more likely to make the long-term investments needed to sustainably manage land, such as practicing crop diversity and agroforestry. Even though land constitutes the main asset from which the rural poor derive their livelihoods, millions of farmers, especially women, do not own their land. In many countries, the laws or customs hinder women’s ownership of land. In more than 100 countries, women are dispossessed from their land when they lose their husbands. This is a key issue to global land restoration since women are more likely to invest in diverse food systems, which boost soil health, while men focus primarily on cash crops and monoculture. 

What is the UN Convention to Combat Desertification? 

In 1991, African environment ministers decided to prioritize their proposal for the negotiation of a new convention to combat desertification as one of the concrete recommendations to be adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED or Earth Summit) to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992. They hoped a convention would help them gain access to additional funding to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought. 

Leading into the final days In Rio, delegates had reached agreement on much of the desertification chapter of Agenda 21, the UNCED outcome, including the definition of desertification: “Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climate variations and human activities.” However, there was still opposition to a convention. Many developing countries resisted the idea of a special convention for Africa, since they also faced land degradation. Industrialized countries maintained that desertification was a local problem and did not warrant a treaty. It wasn’t until the final hours of the Earth Summit that a deal was finally struck and the call for a convention was included in Chapter 12 of Agenda 21.

Negotiations on the Convention began in May 1993 and were completed in five meetings over fifteen months. At the first session in Nairobi, Kenya, the International Negotiating Committee held a one-week seminar to inform negotiators of the substantive issues related to desertification and drought, demonstrating that land degradation affected people around the world. This led to a serious discussion on how to create a global convention that still gave priority to Africa. When Committee Chair Bo Kjellén suggested including a special annex for Africa under the Convention, other regions insisted on annexes for their regions.

At the second meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 1993, governments agreed to negotiate four annexes simultaneously, while giving special attention to Africa. In the end, the Convention includes regional implementation annexes for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and the Northern Mediterranean. A fifth annex, for Central and Eastern Europe, was adopted in 2000.

Differences over financial resources nearly caused the negotiations to collapse. Developing countries called for a special fund as the centerpiece of the new convention. Industrialized countries rejected binding obligations to increase financial assistance to affected countries, insisting that existing resources could be used more effectively. The deadlock was broken only after the United States proposed establishing a “Global Mechanism” to improve monitoring and assessment of existing aid flows and increase donor coordination. Many developing countries were not happy, but believed they had to accept the Global Mechanism on the final night because if there was no agreement on finance, there would be no convention. On 17 June 1994, delegates adopted the UNCCD, four regional implementation annexes, and a resolution calling for urgent action for Africa. 

The Convention recognizes the physical, biological, and socio-economic aspects of desertification and the importance of redirecting technology transfer so that it is demand-driven. The core of the convention is the development of national, subregional and regional action programmes by national governments in cooperation with donors, local populations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In fact, the Convention was the first to call for the effective participation of local populations and organizations in the preparation of national action programmes. This innovation led the first “sustainable development” convention to also be referred to as a “bottom-up” convention.

The UNCCD was opened for signature in October 1994 and entered into force on 26 December 1996. Today, there are 197 parties, representing universal ratification.

Promoting Land Degradation Neutrality

In 2008, a group of scientists was asked by the UNCCD Executive Secretary to examine if the Convention could use the offsetting principle already practiced by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and applied to deforestation at one site by planting trees elsewhere. The idea was to use this offsetting principle to lead to zero-net land degradation and expand the reach of the Convention to address land degradation globally, not just in the drylands. 

The Secretariat and like-minded countries then advocated for endorsement of this concept of land degradation neutrality (LDN) by the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 and its inclusion as one of the targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This would enable LDN to gain traction and effectively link land degradation as a driver of poverty, climate change and biodiversity loss, and demonstrate the relevance of productive land to global sustainability. The Rio+20 outcome, The Future We Want, highlights the need for urgent action to reverse land degradation and achieve a land-degradation neutral world. 

After Rio+20, the UNCCD pushed forward with LDN on a variety of fronts. First, in 2013, the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) established a working group to develop a science-based definition of LDN (Decision 8/COP.11). In late 2014, the Secretariat set up the LDN pilot project, through which 14 affected countries worked to translate LDN into national targets.

Meanwhile, in New York, the UNCCD and its supporters successfully lobbied for including a target on LDN in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). When the 17 SDGs and 169 targets were adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015, they included target 15.3: “By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.” For the first time, the UNCCD had successfully placed an item at the forefront of the international agenda.

The following month, UNCCD COP12 convened in Ankara, Turkey, and endorsed the science-based definition of LDN submitted by the working group: 

“Land degradation neutrality is a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specified temporary and spatial scales and ecosystems” (decision 3/COP.12). 

And, in what some viewed as a ‘game changing’ accomplishment, COP12 agreed that striving to achieve SDG target 15.3 is a “strong vehicle for driving implementation of the UNCCD,” and invited countries to set voluntary targets to achieve LDN. The Global Mechanism and the UNCCD Secretariat established the LDN Target Setting Programme to assist countries in setting national baselines and creating voluntary national LDN targets and associated measures. Since then, 131 countries committed to setting LDN targets and more than 100 have already set their targets. 

In 2017, the Convention’s Science-Policy Interface (SPI) published the Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality, which provides a scientific foundation for understanding, implementing and monitoring LDN. It was designed as a bridge between the vision and the practical implementation of LDN by defining LDN in operational terms. The SPI developed three indicators, which created a clear pathway for monitoring LDN—both for the Convention and SDG 15.3:

• trends in land cover;
• trends in land productivity or functioning of the land; and
• trends in carbon stocks above and below ground.

But there were concerns. Some countries and members of civil society at COP12 were worried about the focus on LDN as a central UNCCD target. Some likened it to opening a door to land grabs and greenwashing. So while the UNCCD COP called for the restoration of 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030 to achieve a land-degradation neutral world, it was also essential to acknowledge land rights and inclusive land governance arrangements at the national and sub-national levels. The land tenure decision at COP14 did just that.  

Already countries have pledged to restore 1 billion hectares of land, but there is still more work to be done to make these pledges a reality.

2018-2030 Strategic Framework

In 2017, COP13 in Ordos, China, adopted the UNCCD 2018−2030 Strategic Framework, which has three main components: a vision, strategic objectives and an implementation framework.

The vision commits parties to “A future that avoids, minimizes, and reverses desertification/land degradation and mitigates the effects of drought in affected areas at all levels and strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, within the scope of the Convention.” 

The Framework’s five strategic objectives are designed to guide the actions of all UNCCD stakeholders and parties until 2030:

1. To improve the condition of affected ecosystems, combat desertification/land degradation, promote sustainable land management and contribute to land degradation neutrality
2. To improve the living conditions of affected populations
3. To mitigate, adapt to, and manage the effects of drought in order to enhance resilience of vulnerable populations and ecosystems
4. To generate global environmental benefits through effective implementation of the UNCCD
5. To mobilize substantial and additional financial and nonfinancial resources to support the implementation of the Convention by building effective partnerships at global and national level

The implementation framework defines the roles and responsibilities of parties, UNCCD institutions, partners and stakeholders in meeting the strategic objectives. 

In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 2022, COP15 launched a midterm evaluation of the Strategic Plan. The results of this evaluation, overseen by an intergovernmental working group, will be discussed at COP16, which is expected to adopt a decision on enhancing the implementation of the Strategic Framework for its final five years and restoring the necessary hectares of land to achieve a land degradation neutral world. 

What’s Next? 

UNCCD COP16 convenes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2-13 December 2024, under the theme “Our Land. Our Future.” The COP will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the UNCCD and a special segment will bring together leaders and high-level officials to commit to accelerate action to combat land degradation and desertification and improve drought resilience. 

In addition to the midterm evaluation of the Strategic Plan and adopting the UNCCD’s biennial budget, COP16 is expected to negotiate and adopt decisions aimed at: 

• accelerating restoration of degraded land between now and 2030; 
• boosting drought preparedness, response and resilience; 
• ensuring land continues to provide climate and biodiversity solutions; 
• boosting resilience to sand and dust storms; 
• scaling up nature-positive food production by protecting and restoring grasslands and rangelands; 
• enhancing ongoing efforts to address desertification/land degradation and drought as one of the drivers that causes migration;
• strengthening women’s right to land tenure to advance land restoration; and
• promoting youth engagement, including decent land-based jobs for youth.

COP16 is also expected to catalyze new initiatives on land restoration and drought resilience that build on the G20 Global Land Initiative.  

For the first time, the COP will include an Action Agenda, which will highlight voluntary commitments and actions and include thematic days: 

• Land Day on 4 December will focus on the importance of healthy land for combating climate change, creating jobs and alleviating poverty, with an emphasis on nature-based solutions, land restoration, and private sector engagement. 
• Agri-food System Day on 5 December will highlight sustainable farming practices for resilient crops and healthy soils while protecting ecosystems. 
• Governance Day on 6 December will address inclusive land governance. 
• People’s Day on 7 December will focus on the role of youth, women and civil society in decision-making.
• Science, Technology and Innovation Day on 9 December aims to accelerate scientific solutions for land health and resilience. 
• Resilience Day on 10 December will focus on policies and technologies to build societal and planetary resilience in the face of climate change. 
• Finance Day on 11 December will engage financial stakeholders to showcase innovative funding mechanisms and partnerships for land and drought resilience initiatives.

COP16 will also build upon the COPs of the CBD in October 2024 and the UNFCCC in November 2024, improving synergies between the three “Rio Conventions” and promoting the implementation of the SDGs.

As UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said in his foreword to the second edition of the Global Land Outlook report, “Governments and stakeholders cannot stop the climate crisis today, biodiversity loss tomorrow, and land degradation the day after.” The international community needs to tackle all these issues together. Achieving climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals is impossible without healthy land.

In 1994 the adoption of the UNCCD started the world down the path to reversing land degradation, desertification and drought. COP16 is expected to reaffirm this global commitment for present and future generations.

Pamela Chasek, Ph.D., is the Co-founder and Executive Editor of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.