UNCCD is one of the three global agreements known as the Rio Conventions (1992), alongside  the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

About UNCCD

• Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
• Members: 196 countries and the European Union.
• Objectives
  • To protect and restore land and ensure a safer, just, and more sustainable future. 
  • It’s committed to a bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification.
• Report: Global Land Outlook.
• Flagship initiatives:
  • In 2015,  Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target setting programme (LDN TSP) :  Parties were invited to formulate voluntary targets to achieve LDN.
    • LDN: It refers to the sustainable management of land resources to support ecosystem services and food security.
    • India committed to restore 26 million hectares by 2030.
  • In 2017, the Strategic Framework 2018−2030: It urged nations to incorporate desertification/land degradation and drought concerns into national policies.
  • Other initiatives: the Great Green Wall (2007), The Changwon Initiative (2011),  International Drought Resilience Alliance (2022), G20 Global Land Initiative (2020), etc.