The earth’s climate is changing at a rate unprecedented in recent human history and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The impacts and risks associated with this are global, geographically diverse and increasingly being felt across a range of systems and sectors essential for human livelihoods and well-being. The more severe and far-reaching the impacts of climate change are, the greater the loss of species will be, and the greater the deterioration of drylands and the risk of desertification and land degradation around the world will be.

The range of measures often emphasized in gendered efforts to reverse desertification and land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought (DLDD) include improving the participation of women in decision-making, building the capacity of women’s organizations, eliminating illiteracy among women, minimizing the heavy workload on women and eliminating gender disparities in employment and in the access to and ownership of resources. This fact sheet draws attention to the complex and evolving nature of gender issues pertaining to drylands women.

Parmi l’éventail des mesures souvent mises en avant dans l’approche genre dans le cadre de la lutte contre la désertification, la dégradation des terres et de l’atténuation des effets de la sécheresse, figurent l’amélioration de la participation des femmes à la prise de décision, le renforcement des capacités des organisations féminines, l’élimination de l’illettrisme féminin, l’allègement de la charge de travail des femmes et l’élimination des disparités hommes-femmes au travail, dans l’accès aux ressources et à la propriété.

El conjunto de medidas a menudo señaladas desde la perspectiva de género para revocar la desertificación y la degradación de las tierras y atenuar los efectos de la sequía (DLDD) incluye: la mejora de la participación de las mujeres en la toma de decisiones, la creación de capacidad de las organizaciones de mujeres, la erradicación del analfabetismo femenino, la disminución de su carga de trabajo y la desaparición de las disparidades de género, tanto en el trabajo como en el acceso y posesión de recursos.

International policy and decision makers now recognize that the link between environmental change and migration has grave consequences for human security. The paradigm of security has shifted away from purely state-centered models to a model that encompasses the greater idea of human development as freedom. The new model implies greater international awareness of the importance of sustainable development for all people – including an intact environment and the ability of all people to enjoy good health and respectable work.

Les acteurs politiques et décideurs internationaux reconnaissent à présent que le lien entre changement climatique et migration a de graves conséquences sur la sécurité humaine. Le paradigme sécuritaire s’est déplacé, passant de modèles purement centrés sur l’état à un modèle englobant cette grande idée du développement humain qu’est la liberté.

Aquellos que formulan políticas y decisiones internacionales reconocen que la relación entre el cambio medioambiental y la migración tiene graves consecuencias para la seguridad humana. El paradigma de la seguridad se ha alejado de los modelos centrados exclusivamente en el Estado para acercase a un patrón que contempla una idea más amplia: la del desarrollo humano como modelo de libertad.

The message in this short, yet stark sentence highlights a phenomenon that farmers, particularly in marginalized dryland areas, have been experiencing for years – the threat of desertification and climate change to their lives. Carbon sequestration, however, serves a dual purpose to remedy this threat. Firstly, global warming can be mitigated significantly by removing atmospheric carbon dioxide and sequestering it in soil. Secondly, increased carbon in the soil has great value as a food-producing asset.

Esta cita subraya un fenómeno que los agricultures, particularmente los de las áreas secas marginadas, llevan años experimentando: la amenaza de la desertificación y el cambio climático para sus vidas. El secuestro de carbono, sin embargo, tiene una doble utilidad para revertir esta amenaza: en primer lugar, el calentamiento global puede ser mitigado significativamente mediante la eliminación del dióxido de carbono de la atmósfera y su secuestro en el suelo; en segundo lugar, el aumento de carbono en el suelo tiene un gran valor como activo para la producción de alimento.

Asia and the Pacific, for the purposes of this book, encompasses a vast territory extending from Mongolia in the north to New Zealand in the south; from the Cook Islands in the east to Kuwait in the west (Map 1). The environmental diversity of Asia and the Pacific is therefore vast, and is contrasted by the region’s coldest and hottest deserts, verdant tropical rainforests, extensive steppe, desert steppe, grassland and rangelands, mountains and plains.

The economic dimension of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) is increasingly gaining importance.

For this reason, the UNCCD has launched an initiative to help make the economic side of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) an integral part of policy strategies and decision-making. An important step in this direction was the Partnership meeting on the Assessment of the »Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought« ( EDLDD), held December 14 – 15, 2010.

The  twelfth  session  of  the  Conference  of  the  Parties  of   the   UNCCD   (COP   12)   agreed   to   integrate   the   sustainable development goals (SDGs) and target 15.3 on  Land  Degradation  Neutrality  (LDN)  in  particular,  into  the  implementation  of  the  Convention,  stating