WOCAT

Join WOCAT at the UNCCD CRIC 23 in Panama City, Panama, from December 1-5, 2025. This important session brings together representatives from 196 countries to review global efforts against desertification, land degradation, and drought. We are excited to contribute to discussions on achieving land degradation neutrality and building a more resilient future. More details about WOCAT's involvement at the CRIC23 will be announced soon.

Together with FAO and IUCN, WOCAT is organising a DSL-IP online learning event on 29 October 2025 on the topic of gender in sustainable dryland management. The event aims to highlight the importance of gender issues for SLM to effectively address land degradation and strengthen climate resilience. It will showcase good practices and innovative gender-responsive approaches to SLM from two DSL-IP countries - Mongolia and Zimbabwe.

🗓️ Date: October 29, 2025 | 12:00 – 14:00 CET📍Platform: Zoom

Africa takes a bold step forward for Sustainable Land Management and Land Degradation Neutrality. AfrioCAT will be a powerful platform for knowledge sharing, innovation, and capacity building; connecting local practices with continental action and global influence. From October 20 - 23 in Addis, during the workshop co-hosted by AUDA-NEPAD, WOCAT and WLRC, together with practitioners, researchers, governments will together shape the strategy and structure of this transformative network.

Stay tuned for more updates as Africa's voice on land is about to get louder!

The AfrioCAT workshop wrap-up in the morning was all about learning, sharing, and scaling up Sustainable Land Management (SLM)! The afternoon was all about getting hands-on with the tools needed to track Land Degradation (LD), monitor SLM, and ultimately achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). A Key question was: "𝗛𝗼𝘄 can the 𝗪𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧 𝗦𝗟𝗠 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 best 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗟𝗠 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀?" Main insights included that SLM success highly depends on inclusive processes, country ownership is essential, data must speak to people to enable use, partnerships matter, and digital tools can transform monitoring and land management in Africa.

In the morning we explored how Africa’s land restoration journey connects to both global and continental frameworks; from the UNCCD’s LDN to Agenda 2063, AFR100, and the Kampala Declaration. What stood out is the importance of africanizing tools: Making global approaches work for African realities, languages, and communities; owning data & knowledge: The continent doesn’t lack expertise; it needs stronger coordination, data sharing, and trust; and from projects to systems: Integrating SLM into national policies, education, and community action. The highlight of the afternoon was our field trip! People were excited to witness SLM practices applied and linked to the unique culture and history of Addis Ababa. This local relevance is key!

The SDG 15.3.1 GPG Addendum (unedited version) is out!

After 18 months and collaboration with many experts and institutions, we are pleased to share this document with updated guidance to compare land degradation maps over time, estimate SDG indicator 15.3.1 and monitor progress towards LDN.

The Newsletter is out! Dive in and explore our three decade-long alliance with FAO, an outlook for new opportunities of capacity development and much more. Together we are continuing our work towards sustainable land management and land degradation neutrality!