Gender equity is a matter of fundamental human rights and social justice, as well as a pre-condition for sustainable development. The empowerment of women and gender equity has been recognized as a significant driver of development, enhancing the effectiveness of programs, projects, and initiatives.

In West Africa, many countries are adversely affected by the effects of desertification, land degradation and drought(DLDD), with climate change also increasingly making an impact on local livelihoods. The most visible consequences are a loss of soil fertility and a reduction in agricultural productivity, which can lead to food and social crises and, consequently, to increased poverty. Furthermore, farmers are often forced to exploit the land to its maximum capacity in order to obtain good yields and to avoid the risk of famine.

Established in 1994, the United Nations to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

Growing external pressures from human activities and climate change can exacerbate desertification, compromising the livelihoods of more than 25% of the world’s population. The dryland mosaic is defined by land covers that do not behave similarly, and the identification of their recurring or irregular changes over time is crucial, especially in areas susceptible to become desertified.

UNCCD Decision 26 / COP.14 Land tenure

Key Messages and Recommendations

• Combating desertification and land degradation while mitigating the effects of drought can secure long-term socio-economic benefits for people living in drylands and reduce their vulnerability to climate change.

• Land degradation neutrality (LDN) is an approach that counterbalances the expected loss of productive land with the recovery of degraded areas.

• Land tenure insecurity, especially for women, often prevents farmers from adopting sustainable land management practices

Indicator 15.3.1: Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area
 

An options paper for raising awareness on responsible land governance for combatting desertification, land degradation, and drought.

The second edition of the Global Land Outlook (GLO2), Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience, sets out the rationale, enabling factors, and diverse pathways by which countries and communities can reduce and reverse land degradation by designing and implementing their bespoke land restoration agenda. Land restoration for recovery and resilience is about creating livelihood and development opportunities for people simply by changing the way we use and manage our land resources.

The conceptual framework for Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) highlights that land degradation in developing countries impacts men and women differently, mainly due to unequal access to land, water, credit, extension services and technology. It further asserts that gender inequality plays a significant role in land-degradation-related poverty hence the need to address persistent gender inequalities that fuel women’s poverty in LDN interventions. This paper presents recommendations for moving towards a twin-agenda: gender equality and land degradation neutrality.

The study  titled “Differentiated Impacts of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought on Women and Men” released this week at  COP15  has revealed that women are twice more affected by drought, land degradation, and deforestation. Drought and land degradation tend to increase the burden of unpaid care and domestic work shouldered by women and girls, which has also been further compounded by the coronavirus disease. 

This is the video of a specific side event at the UNCCD COP 15 that discusses the importance of land tenure rights to achieving land degradation neutrality. This session took place in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 12 May 2022.