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Produced jointly by the secretariats of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with contributions from multiple stakeholders, this technical guide addresses the integration of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) within the implementation of the UNCCD and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), thus opening a new chapter in ongoing efforts to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought. The guide outlines the practical applications of the VGGT – an internationally recognized framework on the [...]

This document presents the methodology used to build the EX-Ante Carbon Balance Tool version 9 (EX-ACT). It describes in detail the main logic behind the tool, the tool structure, and the underlying equations and parameters used to calculate the carbon balance. EX-ACT is a land-use-based accounting system developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to evaluate the effects of the interventions in agriculture on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon stock changes expressed as carbon balance. The carbon balance comprises changes in GHG emissions and carbon stock changes in the five quantifiable carbon pools: above-ground [...]

The 2022 edition of The State of the World’s Forests explores the potential of three forest pathways for achieving green recovery and tackling environmental crises, including climate change and biodiversity loss against the backdrop of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use and the pledge of 140 countries to eliminate forest loss by 2030 and to support restoration and sustainable production and consumption.The three interrelated pathways are halting deforestation and maintaining forests; restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry; and sustainably using forests and building green value chains. The balanced, simultaneous pursuit of these pathways can generate sustainable economic [...]

Many countries in Western Europe have a long tradition of applying land banking as part of the integrated toolbox of land management instruments. As with land consolidation, the traditional purpose of land banking has been to support agriculture and rural development by reducing land fragmentation and facilitating the enlargement of farms. In Western Europe, the objectives of land banking have developed over the last decades, and today, in several countries, the instrument is applied in a multi-purpose approach together with land consolidation. In most countries, land banking shares the objectives of land consolidation, which in addition to continued agricultural development, [...]

Los efectos de la crisis generada por la pandemia del coronavirus siguen evolucionando y golpeando con fuerza a nuestras sociedades. En el caso de América Latina y El Caribe (ALC), la tenencia de la tierra se encuentra en el corazón de su desarrollo; este tema como ningún otro ha provocado guerras, desplazamientos, conflictos sociales, corrupción, hambre y pobreza. Particularmente, la extrema desigualdad en el acceso y control de la tierra es uno de los grandes problemas sin resolver en ALC; es al mismo tiempo causa y consecuencia de estructuras sociales enormemente polarizadas que han alimentado y siguen alimentando las crisis políticas [...]

The Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT) is an appraisal system that provides estimates of the impact of agriculture and forestry development projects, programmes and policies on the carbon-balance. The carbon-balance is defined as the net balance from all greenhouse gases (GHGs) expressed in CO2 equivalent that were emitted or sequestered due to project implementation as compared with a business-as-usual scenario.  EX-ACT is a land-based accounting system, estimating emissions or sinks of CO2, as well as GHG emissions per unit of land. The tool helps project designers to prioritize project activities with benefits in economic and climate change mitigation terms. Find out more: EX-ACT Brochure YouTube-explanation [...]

Ce guide en image est le fruit d’un processus participatif et inclusif de Renforcement des capacités des Comités régionaux de transhumance qui ont réuni plus de 90 participants (pasteurs/éleveurs, administration territoriales, conseils régionaux, structures techniques décentralisées des différents départements ministériels clefs, les organisations de la société civile, ainsi que les représentants de projets et les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) au niveau des Willayas pastorales). Organisées du 17 mars au 23 mars 2019 au niveau des Willayas de l’Assaba et des deux Hods, ces rencontres ont permis aux acteurs présents d’échanger, en lien avec la gouvernance des terres pastorales, sur les [...]

Food system demands have increased exponentially in recent decades and are estimated to continue growing as global populations increase and economic affluence expands. However, the very foundation of a productive system – healthy lands and soils and clean water supply – is already under immense pressure. In fact, by the most credible estimates, up to 52% of global agricultural lands are now moderately to severely degraded, with millions of hectares per year degrading to the point they are abandoned by the land manager. The loss of productive land, coupled with increased food demand, pushes agriculture to be the primary driver [...]

This document was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and inputs from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as an input for the discussions of the 2020 G20 Saudi Presidency.

Satisfying the changing food habits and increased demand for food intensifies pressure on the world’s water, land and soil resources. However, agriculture bears great promise to alleviate these pressures and provide multiple opportunities to contribute to global goals. Sustainable agricultural practices lead to water saving, soil conservation, sustainable land management, conservation of natural resources, ecosystem and climate change benefits. Accomplishing this requires accurate information and a major change in how we manage these resources. It also requires complementing efforts from outside the natural resources management domain to maximize synergies and manage trade-offs. The objective of SOLAW 2021 is to build awareness [...]