The climate change (CC) caused by increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 and other Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), can be addressed through adaptation and mitigation strategies. Adaptation consists of strategies which minimize vulnerability to CC. The objective is to increase resilience of the ecosystems and communities through adoption of specific sustainable land management (SLM) techniques that have adaptive benefits. On the other hand, the goal of mitigation strategies is to enhance soil and vegetation (land) sinks for absorbing atmospheric CO2 and to minimize net emissions.

This report analyzes in some detail the risks to project finance and the performance of real-sector investments. Options, futures, derivatives, foreign exchange and more exotic instruments are not specifically addressed. The objectives of institutional investors, such as pension funds, include creation of sustained revenues over a long period of time. Clearly, given this long-term perspective, institutional investors need to be particularly aware of growing risks to their investments in climatically sensitive sectors or regions.

The objectives of the Costing Adaptation through Local Institutions (CALI) study were (a) to identify the costs of adaptation through local institutions, and (b) to investigate which institutions help households adapt to climate variability, which efforts and costs are needed to realize the adaptation options, and how they facilitate adaptation to climate variability. The study was carried out in Ethiopia, Mali, and Yemen. This report discusses the results for Yemen.

Climate change presents a profound challenge to food security and development. Negative impacts from climate change are likely to be greatest in regions that are currently food insecure and may even be significant in those regions that have made large gains in reducing food insecurity over the past half-century. Adaptation in the agricultural sector is being given a high priority within this effort because of the inherent sensitivity of food production to climate and the strong inter-linkages that exist between climate, agriculture, and economic growth and development.

The Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) for Timor-Leste identifies environmental priorities through a systematic review of environmental issues in natural resources management and environmental health in the context of the country's economic development and environmental institutions. Lack of data has been the main limitation in presenting a more rigorous analysis. Nevertheless, the report builds on the best available secondary data, presents new data on the country's wealth composition, and derives new results on the costs of water and air pollution.

The desert areas of the country had remained backward in many respects due to difficult physiography varying agro-climatic conditions and distinct socio cultural features. Since the people living in these areas were facing hardships owing to geo-climatic conditions, the desert development programme was introduced as a centrally sponsored scheme in 1977-78.

Land degradation is accelerating and drought is escalating worldwide. At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders clearly acknowledged that desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) are challenges of a global dimension affecting the sustainable development of all countries, in particular developing countries. In view of this, they committed to strive to achieve a land-degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable development and to monitor land degradation globally (paragraphs 205–207 of “The future we want”).

La degradación de la tierra se está acelerando, y las sequías van en aumento en todo el mundo. En la conferencia Río+20, los dirigentes mundiales reconocieron sin ambages que la desertificación, la degradación de la tierra y la sequía son problemas de dimensión mundial que afectan al desarrollo sostenible de todos los países, en particular los que están en desarrollo.

Dry forests play an important role in preventing land degradation and desertification, conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem goods and services and mitigating and adapting to climate change and the impacts of drought. To make use of the promising potential of forests and agroforestry schemes in arid areas they need to be fully included in the REDD+ mechanism with a special focus on the co-benefits.

Les forêts sèches jouent un rôle important pour la prévention de la dégradation des terres et de la désertification, la conservation de la biodiversité, la production de biens et de services écosystémiques ainsi que l’atténuation des changements climatiques et des incidences des sécheresses et l’adaptation à ceux-ci. Il convient de les intégrer globalement dans le mécanisme REDD+ en s’attachant en particulier aux avantages associés afin d’exploiter le potentiel prometteur des forêts et des techniques agroforestières dans les zones arides

Los bosques secos desempeñan una importante labor en la prevención de la degradación de la tierra y la desertificación, la conservación de la biodiversidad y el abastecimiento de bienes y servicios al ecosistema, así como en la mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático y en los impactos de la sequía. Para aprovechar el prometedor potencial de los bosques y de los esquemas de agrosilvicultura en zonas áridas éstos deben estar totalmente integrados en el mecanismo REDD+, tomando especial atención a los co-beneficios.

The UNCCD Advocacy Policy Framework (APF) on gender, approved by the COP10 (Decision 9), demonstrates the benefits of mainstreaming gender in Desertification/Land Degradation and Drought (DDLD)/ Sustainable Land Management (SLM) actions at national and local levels. The framework recognizes that gender mainstreaming has to take place at various levels involving multiple stakeholders. It is through the full participation of local people, especially women, that the efforts efforts to combat desertification can be most effective.