In 2002, the GEF Assembly expanded GEF’s mandate by adding land degradation to the GEF portfolio. In 2003, the GEF was designated a financial mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Over the next three years, GEF expects to invest more than $250 million in projects that integrate sustainable land management into national development priorities, strengthen human, technical, and institutional capacities, bring about needed policy and regulatory reforms, and implement innovative sustainable land management practices.

What makes the new land degradation focal area unique is its holistic view. The focus is not on individual benefits, but rather on synergies among various GEF focal areas. Sustainable land management requires an integrated approach to natural resources management, taking into account the various factors influencing decisions about land use at the local, national, and regional level.

GEF’ s Strategic Roadmap to Sustainable Land Management

The GEF emphasizes fostering the appropriate enabling environment and institutional capacity to support sustainable land management, particularly in small island developing states and least developed countries, which may lack such infrastructure.

Related activities include harmonizing relevant planning and policy frameworks, integrating land use planning, and establishing institutional mechanisms for the management of transboundary resource

An essential part of the GEF’s work on sustainable land management is supporting on-the-ground investments to address land degradation. These investments comprise packages to improve the livelihood of local people and to preserve or restore the ecosystem health, and thus the flow of goods and services they provide. The packages relate to sustainable agriculture, rangeland, and forest management.

Partnerships for Sustainable Land Management

Partnerships are the basis for sustainable land management. In addition to working with its implementing and executing agencies, the GEF partners with the scientific community, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), bilateral agencies, and others to tackle the complexity of land degradation issues. Moreover, GEF projects promote collaboration within countries, helping government agencies work together and harmonize their policies and programs in order to provide an enabling environment for sustainable land management.

In general, the GEF’s work on land degradation complements the efforts of the Global Mechanism for the UN Convention on Combating Desertification, which locates cofinancing for project elements outside the GEF’s mandate.

Project Themes in Land Degradation

The GEF focuses on three production systems:

Agriculture. Sustainable agricultural practices—such as crop diversification, crop rotation, water harvesting, and small-scale irrigation schemes—can help the productivity of both rain-fed and irrigated agriculture.

Rangeland. GEF promotes sustainable rangeland management through the strengthening of viable traditional rangeland management systems and other measures that improve soil and water conservation, while supporting GEF's goal of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Forest. GEF financing may include pilot or demonstration activities aimed at preserving viable indigenous forest and woodland management systems. These activities may involve innovative schemes to secure financial, socioeconomic, and ecological sustainability.

Land Degradation Fact Sheet, June 2009