LIVE: UN tackles desertification, drought and land restoration

A group of African women in colorful headscarves and patterned dresses clap and smile in a dry field in Chad.

LIVE: UN tackles desertification, drought and land restoration

By Daniel Dickinson in Riyadh

2 December 2024 Climate and Environment

People around the world are facing devastating consequences as the land that supports livelihoods, helps to regulate climate and protect biodiversity becomes increasingly degraded due to climate change and mismanagement. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification is meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss how to regenerate the land and secure all of our futures. UN News app users can follow here.

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News Tracker: Past Stories on This Issue

A Black African woman walks across dry, arid ground in Niger, carrying a baby on her back and balancing a water gourd on her head. Palm trees are visible in the background.

What’s desertification? Experts hopeful devastating trend can be reversed

30 November 2024

Climate and Environment

An area the size of Egypt, around 100 million hectares, of healthy and productive land is being degraded each year due to drought and desertification, which is being driven mainly by climate change and poor land management.

Agricultural terraces with stone circles on volcanic soil in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, with a volcano in the background.

Stop ‘vandalising’ Earth and help the planet thrive, UN chief urges

16 June 2024

Climate and Environment

As nearly 40 per cent of land across the planet is degraded with more acres lost every second, governments, businesses and communities must galvanize action to reverse the damage and protect Earth, the UN chief said in a strong message for the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, marked annually on 17 June.