The Lancet Planetary Health, June 2025

Desertification, Drought, and Planetary Health: UNCCD COP16 and the Future of Land

Our land is our future but global negotiations to manage and sustain it are underrecognised. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification is the global voice for land and an important instrument for planetary health.

In some countries, 10 per cent of national wealth or up to 20 per cent of GDP can be determined by one single drought. The stability and health of many communities depend on the management of land, including for avoiding degradation and desertification.

For the last 30 years, the Rio Convention processes have advanced the way we govern the global environment and shaped the way we think about sustainability. The so-called Rio Trio—the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)—originated in 1992. But in awareness, popularity, and funding the land convention has been secondary to the climate and biodiversity governance processes. This article shines a spotlight on the UNCCD, the highest international agreement on land and an important instrument for planetary health governance.