LAND SCAN - What's New – JANUARY 2015 UNCCD Library information service - All about desertification, land degradation, drought, drylands, sustainable land management, and more related issues compiled from the Web DID YOU KNOW?  The new Montpellier Panel report ‘No Ordinary Matter: Conserving, Restoring and Enhancing Africa’s Soils’ presented (Thursday 4th December 2014) at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome- ahead of World Soil Day which falls today 5th of December. This report from the Montpellier Panel argues that : if left unaddressed, the cycle of poor land management will result in higher barriers to food security, agricultural development for smallholder farmers and wider economic growth for Africa. I. In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 65 per cent of soils are degraded, and unable to nourish the crops the chronically food insecure continent requires. II. Poverty, climate change, population pressures and inadequate farming techniques are leading to a continuous decline in the health of African soils, whilst the economic loss is estimated at USD 68 billion per year. III. Conversely, better land management practices could deliver up to USD 1.4 trillion globally in increased crop production – 35 times the losses. The report is a comprehensive analysis of land management in Africa today, and answers a series of critical questions:  Are donors and governments neglecting soil health in Africa?  What are the key approaches to restoring Africa’s soils?  How can improved land management tackle climate change in Africa? Read the full report (40 pages) following the link here http://ag4impact.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/12/MP_0106_Soil_Report_LR.pdf DID YOU KNOW?  weADAPT links you to climate adaptation professionals, organisations and networks doing similar work 1 weADAPT brings exciting climate adaptation work, methods and tools to your fingertips. ASSAR: Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions Added to the ASSAR - Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions Network by Jesse DeMaria-Kinney & Martin Rokitzki Seeing climate adaptation through the eyes of a child - Mainstreaming children's vulnerabilities and capacities into community-based adaptation to enhance impact Added to the Global Initiative on Community Based Adaptation (GICBA) Network by Ekaterina Bessonova from SEI Supporting city-scale decisions in the context of climate change: The case of the City of Cape Town Added to the Adaptation Decision Making Theme by Anton Cartwright from SEI Developing a social network map to frame adaptation action in the Guadiana river basin, Spain Added to the weADAPT Adaptation Layer by Consuelo Varela-Ortega, Gema Carmona, Irene Blanco-Gutiérrez & Paloma Esteve Methods for integrative research on community resilience to multiple hazards, with examples from Italy and England Added to the Disaster Resilience Theme by John Forrester, Neela Matin, Lydia Pedoth & Richard Taylor https://weadapt.org/knowledge-base Prepared by UNCCD LIBRARY January 2015 2