Deforestation, land degradation, and unsustainable land management threaten our lives and are responsible, both directly and indirectly, for many economic, social and environmental issues. In particular, countries in Northeast Asia face the growing threats of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD). In China, it is estimated that “more than 40 per cent of Chinese arable land is degraded” (China Daily 2014). “The annual cost of land degradation in Mongolia is estimated at 2.1 billion United States dollars (USD)” (UNCCD, 2018).

In terms of innovative mechanisms, economic and financial mechanisms that rely on regulationand markets to provide incentives for environmental stewardship are also relevant. These mechanisms include different types of regulations and direct or indirect payments schemes, for example tradable development rights, trading of emission reduction and payment for environmental services.
Investment based mechanisms, like microfinance, are other types of mechanism that can provide financing for UNCCD and SLM practises.

Since the publication of the Report of the Brundtland Commission (Our Common Future) in 1987, and the consequent Earth Summit on sustainable development, global attention on natural resource scarcity and degradation has been increasing, because of climate change and rising food and energy prices. This awareness, in turn, has led to growing interest in land investments by the private and public sectors. Despite this interest, however, land degradation has not been comprehensively addressed at the global level or in developing countries.

Agriculture influences and shapes the world’s ecosystems, but not always in a positive way. More than 2.5 billion people are globally involved as stewards of land and water ecosystems that constitute the natural resource base for feeding the current and future world population. Yet, conventional agronomic interventions based on ‘hard’ agricultural engineering compromise various eco-services that are required for sustainable agricultural development.

Positioning land tenure within LDN: framework, implementation model and monitoring. In order to position tenure rights within the LDN approach, this article first proposes how land tenure, viewed as sets of tools, can be specifically integrated into the LDN framework (Figure 1), implementation model (Figure 2), and monitoring approach (Figure 3). These three figures build upon the schematics established by UNCCD for LDN (UNCCD, 2016a; 2014; 2013b) and used subsequently in examinations regarding how LDN intersects with the variety of topics noted above.

In terms of innovative mechanisms, economic and financial mechanisms that rely on regulationand markets to provide incentives for environmental stewardship are also relevant. These mechanisms include different types of regulations and direct or indirect payments schemes, for example tradable development rights, trading of emission reduction and payment for environmental services.
Investment based mechanisms, like microfinance, are other types of mechanism that can provide financing for UNCCD and SLM practises.

Drylands have always been the subject to intra- and inter-annul fluctuations of climate conditions, with important consequences for ecosystem function and productivity.

It took scientists more than three decades to transform a perceived desertification crisis in the Sahel into a non-event. Looking beyond the Sahel, the chapters in this book provide case studies from around the world that examine the use and relevance of the desertification concept.

This report suggests that a new and explicit goal of sustainable development to be agreed as a result of Rio+20 should be the reduction of the rate of land degradation to achieve land degradation neutrality, which we refer to as “Zero Net Land Degradation” or ZNLD.

Dryland mountains are among the least-known environments in the world, and certainly one of the most overlooked by decision- and policy-makers. Dryland mountains have an outstanding strategic value. They act as water towers for surrounding dry lowland areas, as shown by the examples of the Rocky Mountains of North America, the Central Andes, the mountains of the Mediterranean Basin, the Sahara and Sub-Saharan Africa, West Asia, and Central Asia

The Action Against Desertification (AAD) project supports eight countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Fiji,
Gambia, Haiti, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal – in the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in the
sustainable management and restoration of degraded land. Baseline assessments have been carried
out in each of these countries to establish a reference against which to monitor changes and project
impacts, as well as to better target project activities and inform other stakeholders and restoration
initiatives in the eight countries.

This publication supports processes related to rural communities’ resilience in implementing land restoration of the Great Green Wall Programme on the ground. It serves a dual purpose of consolidating biophysical operations and socio-economic assessments, and is mainly built on five-year interventions and practical experiences gathered through Action Against Desertification. The first part of the publication is a practical manual expressly created for stakeholders, partners, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations.