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The GLF at the UNCCD COP16

From 2–13 December 2024, our team will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to cover this year’s biggest event on drylands: the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16.

You’ll find our latest updates on this page. To learn more:

  • Join the GLF WhatsApp channel for daily updates. Scan the QR code or click here. 
  • Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and X/Twitter for updates, live-streamed interviews and daily wrap-ups.

 

We’ll also be hosting an event on restoring African landscapes on 9 December. Be sure to join us if you’ll be in Riyadh!

Meanwhile, follow our live coverage from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29), and catch up on our coverage from the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16)!

Latest articles

What does land mean to you?

Land offers us some of our most basic needs, including food, water and shelter. At UNCCD COP16, we asked participants what it means to them.

 
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The Line in the sand: Will Neom prove miracle or mirage?

Saudi Arabia is building an eco-city in the desert. What difference will The Line and Neom make to the country’s sky-high carbon emissions?

 
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What is desertification, and why does it matter?

Desertification is affecting half a billion people around the world. But what is it, and what can we do about it? Find out in this explainer.

 
UNCCD COP16

What’s at stake at the COP16 desertification negotiations?

GLF Live with Nancy Barisoa, Beatriz Azevedo and Billie Dumaliang

 

From the Amazon to the Caatinga: What agroforestry can do for Brazil

Agribusiness is destroying Brazil’s ecosystems. In this guest op-ed, two young farmers explain how agroforestry offers an alternative.

 
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How Indigenous knowledge is saving Australia’s great desert skink

Every year in March, Indigenous rangers team up with scientists and the Australian government to monitor and protect the great desert skink.

 

Forest gardens in Madagascar: Oases of hope

In the Menabe region of Madagascar, a local community is building resilience by embracing agroforestry and farmer-managed natural regeneration.

 

How the world’s driest region is adapting to the climate crisis

As the UAE gears up to host COP28, we take a closer look at the state of the climate in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

 
Protecting vegetation can help prevent desertification and land degradation. Sean Robertson, Unsplash

Degradation of 40 percent of Earth’s lands puts half of global economic output at risk, report finds

Most comprehensive publication of its kind tells stark truths on the state of landscape degradation and what that could mean for the world.

 

How Africa’s Great Green Wall will make the Sahel green again

Africa is building a wall across the Sahel to stop the advancing Sahara. Will it work? Here's all you need to know about the Great Green Wall.

 
Mr. Augustino, a Tanzanian farmer who restored his degraded landscape using FMNR techniques. Courtesy of the LEAD Foundation

In African drylands, farmers are coaxing former forests back into life

How “farmer-managed natural regeneration,” FMNR, is taking hold on the African continent and beyond to combat drought and boost agriculture.

 
The semi-arid region of Bardenas Reales, Spain. bernardhermant, Unsplash

Everything you need to know about drylands

Explore the world's drylands, the ubiquitous, un-trumpeted ecosystems that are critical to feeding the world and cover much of the planet.

 
A lone tree stands in the Sahara, whose encroachment on the Sahel has led to the desertification of lands and inspired the Great Green Wall. orientalizing, Flickr

Here stands the Great Green Wall

An in-depth look at the progress and holdbacks of Africa's Great Green Wall, one of history's most ambitious restoration efforts.

 

Climate Crash Course

Climate crash course: Where do we stand right now?

A 15-minute "climate crash course" on where we stand with climate change with IPCC vice-chair Youba Sokona.

 

Climate crash course: What does “net zero” really mean?

A 15-minute "climate crash course" on the meaning of net zero with climate mitigation expert Kate Dooley.

 

Climate crash course: What is loss and damage?

A 15-minute "climate crash course" on the meaning of loss and damage expert Preety Bhandari.

 

Climate crash course: How do greenhouse gases work?

A 15-minute "climate crash-course" on the greenhouse gas basics with Colombian expert Paola Andreas Arias.

 

ThinkLandscape is a multimedia platform bringing you original, knowledge-backed news and feature stories about climate and landscape solutions from around the world.

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