1 February 2024 Rome - FAO has released its first practical guide to using participatory video, an innovative community-led technique that monitors change in development projects and programmes, with the aim of improving sustainability in dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral systems. [more]
14 September 2023 Amman - Delegates from around the world came together this week to discuss strategies to transform agricultural production systems in dryland areas at the Third Session of the Committee on Forestry Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems. [more]
17 June 2023 In the world's drylands, women’s needs, expertise and opinions cannot be ignored if we are to create a truly climate-resilient future and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including goals on gender equality (SDG 5), climate action (SDG 13) and life on land (SDG 15). [more]
29 March 2023 Rome - FAO today launched a new e-learning course that will inspire practitioners to champion transformational dryland forest management strategies. Now available free on the FAO elearning Academy platform, this course focuses on agrosilvopastoral systems as a solution, utilising both dryland trees and livestock in a mutually beneficial system. [more]
7 November 2022 At 52 years old, through a marriage and the birth of seven children, Dandakoye has witnessed devastating changes to the land around his village of Sakey Kouara Tegui. Situated in the western region of Niger, Dandakoye’s village is nestled in the watershed of the Gorou Tayya plateau in the urban commune of Kollo. [more]
19 August 2022 Humanitarian interventions in the world’s dryland areas blighted by conflict must, in the context of the climate crisis, also address the environmental impacts of the conflicts such as those exacerbated by the forced displacement of people, according to a new policy brief released today on World Humanitarian Day 2022. [more]
17 June 2022 Droughts have always happened, but they are becoming more frequent and severe. Over the last two decades, droughts have impacted 1.4 billion people in the world, increasing in number and duration by almost 30% since 2000. While Africa is seeing the greatest increase in severity and frequency of droughts, they are progressively affecting every continent, from Asia-Pacific to Europe. [more]
13 May 2022 Abidjan/Rome – An additional one billion hectares of land – so called “presumed drylands” face similar challenges to the world’s drylands, according to a new report launched today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). [more]
23 November 2021 Boosting the capacity of forests and agrosilvopastoral systems in drylands to alleviate poverty and contribute to food security was the focus of an FAO expert meeting this month. Hosted by Tanzania, the Second Session of the Committee on Forestry's Working Group on Dryland Forests and Agrosilvopastoral Systems was attend by about 40 member countries, as well as non-member countries, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations. [more]
16 November 2021 Africa’s Great Green Wall (GGW) programme to combat desertification in the Sahel region is not only crucial to the battle against climate change but also makes commercial sense for investors, a new study led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and published in Nature Sustainability shows. [more]
24 September 2021 Addressing climate change, land degradation and conflict in humanitarian interventions can lead to ‘game-changing’ solutions for dryland ecosystems and their communities, according to a new discussion paper launched today at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in New York. [more]
16 June 2021 Forest restoration must go beyond increasing biomass and improve ecology, lives, and livelihoods simultaneously. Approaches should increase climate resilience and prioritize income generation through green jobs and addressing food insecurity and malnutrition. [more]
8 June 2021 The global launch of a $104 million initiative signals an ambitious effort by a range of partners to safeguard drylands in the context of climate change, fragile ecosystems, biodiversity loss, and deforestation in 11 African and Central Asian countries. [more]
19 March 2021 When you think of drylands, do you think of miles of empty, barren desert? Well, think again! Drylands are actually a unique type of ecosystem characterised by water scarcity and low precipitation. [more]
17 June 2020 People are consuming more than ever. Our choices are having an unprecedented impact on the environment. The jeans, skirts or suits we wear, the pharmaceuticals and cosmetics we use, the food and drink we consume – all of these products have an impact, to varying degrees, on the environment. [more]
5 December 2019 More than a quarter of the world's forest area is located in drylands, and trees are present on almost a third of the world's dryland regions, according to Trees, forests and land use in drylands: The first global assessment , launched by FAO today at the U.N. COP25 climate summit. [more]
17 June 2019 Globally, desertification and the associated land degradation are currently threatening the livelioods of 1 billion people in more than 100 countries. [more]
19 March 2019 Countries in Eastern Africa have committed to restore over 3 000 hectares of degraded land this year. The pledge was made in Khartoum where experts and partners of countries supporting Africa’s Great Green Wall initiative discussed ways to boost land restoration in 2019. [more]
28 February 2019 Highly-vulnerable communities in the Sahel has agroecology as a mechanism to stem the rise of hunger and malnutrition in a region buffeted by increased pressure on natural resources including soils and water, the loss of biodiversity, and the uncertainties associated with climate change. [more]
1 February 2019 Rural communities in Africa’s drylands can earn a decent income from forest products such as gum arabic or tree oils. According to a new report from Action Against Desertification, rural populations have the opportunity to increase their incomes while reversing land degradation through sufficient support and investment, and developing value chains. [more]