A/RES/80/139 GA

United Nations A/RES/80/139 General Assembly Distr.: General 18 December 2025 25-20764 (E) *2520764* Eightieth session Agenda item 18 (e) Sustainable development: implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 15 December 2025 [on the report of the Second Committee (A/80/555, para. 7)] 80/139. Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 79/207 of 19 December 2024, as well as other resolutions relating to the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa,1 Reaffirming its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which it adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets, its commitment to working tirelessly for the full implementation of the Agenda by 2030, its recognition that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, and its commitment to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner and to building upon the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and seeking to address their unfinished business, Recalling that, in the 2030 Agenda, the international community committed to combating desertification, restoring degraded land and soil, including land affected _______________ 1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1954, No. 33480. A/RES/80/139 Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa 25-20764 2/11 by desertification, drought and floods, and striving to achieve a land degradation- neutral world by 2030, Recognizing that Sustainable Development Goal targets 15.3, 6.1 and 6.6 and the setting of voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality targets have created strong momentum for accelerating the implementation of the Convention, Reaffirming its resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supports and complements it, helps to contextualize its means of implementation targets with concrete policies and actions, and reaffirms the strong political commitment to address the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels for sustainable development in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity, Welcoming the convening of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development from 30 June to 3 July 2025 in Sevilla, Spain, and reaffirming its outcome document, the Sevilla Commitment, endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 79/323 of 25 August 2025, which sets forth a renewed global framework for financing for development, building on the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, 2 to close with urgency the estimated annual 4 trillion United States dollar financing gap, 3 and catalyse sustainable development investments at scale in developing countries and continue the reform of the international financial architecture through continued and strong commitment to multilateralism, international cooperation, and global solidarity, Recalling the Sendai Declaration4 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–20305 and the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the midterm review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, held in New York on 18 and 19 May 2023 at which the General Assembly adopted the political declaration on the midterm review of the Sendai Framework,6 Noting with concern that up to 40 per cent of the world’s land is degraded, negatively affecting over 3.2 billion people and causing annual economic losses of 878 billion United States dollars, including 307 billion dollars attributable to drought damages, and recognizing the need to close the estimated substantial financial gap of 278 billion dollars needed annually to meet the objectives of the Convention, Recognizing that drought is a global concern with increasing impacts on people in vulnerable situations, particularly those dependent on agriculture, and noting the growing importance of proactive and prospective drought management, strengthened collaboration, capacity-building and knowledge exchange to enhance drought resilience, especially in developing countries, Noting that combating desertification, land degradation and drought, including through conservation, protection, sustainable management and restoration of natural resources, can contribute to sustainable development for all and to easing displacement flows, Noting also that restoring degraded lands generates benefits for agriculture production and food security, with benefits for populations, brings more food to the _______________ 2 General Assembly resolution 69/313, annex. 3 Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2024 (United Nations publication, 2024), figure I.1. 4 Resolution 69/283, annex I. 5 Ibid., annex II. 6 Resolution 77/289, annex. Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa A/RES/80/139 3/11 25-20764 hungry and to the markets, restores ecosystems and biodiversity and enhances resilience to climate change impacts, including by sequestering huge quantities of carbon from the atmosphere and bringing carbon into the soil, Recalling that, in its decision 3/COP.15,7 the Conference of the Parties to the Convention invited Parties that have committed to voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality Targets to implement measures to accelerate the achievement thereof, by, inter alia, creating an enabling environment for the achievement of land degradation neutrality, including the responsible governance of land and tenure security, the engagement of stakeholders and the improved access of smallholders to advisory and financial services, in particular for women and those in vulnerable situations, therefore, taking note with appreciation of the pledge made by 131 countries to establish national voluntary targets and relevant measures to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, while 112 Parties have successfully completed this voluntary process and 106 have already published their national reports on the website of the Convention, Bearing in mind its resolution 73/284 of 1 March 2019, in which it declared the decade 2021–2030 as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Recalling the adoption of the 2018–2030 Strategic Framework of the Convention,8 including a new strategic objective on drought, Taking note of resolution 6/14 of 1 March 2024 of the United Nations Environment Assembly, entitled “Strengthening international efforts to combat desertification and land degradation, restore degraded land, promote land conservation and sustainable land management, contribute to land degradation neutrality, and enhance drought resilience”,9 Reaffirming the Paris Agreement and its early entry into force, encouraging all its Parties to fully implement the Agreement, and Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change10 that have not yet done so to deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, where appropriate, as soon as possible, Recognizing that climate change, unsustainable agricultural and forestry practices, and land degradation, inter alia, are major and growing drivers of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and that conservation, restoration and the sustainable use of biodiversity, and ecosystem functions and services, sustainable land and water management approaches and technologies, including through nature- based solutions, ecosystem-based approaches and other management and conservation approaches, in line with resolution 5/5 of 2 March 2022 of the United Nations Environment Assembly, 11 contribute significantly to land degradation neutrality, climate change adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction and food security and nutrition, Noting with concern the findings of the second edition of Global Land Outlook and the findings of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration and its Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, _______________ 7 See ICCD/COP(15)/23/Add.1. 8 ICCD/COP(13)/21/Add.1, decision 7/COP.13, annex, and ICCD/COP(15)/23/Add.1, decision 7/COP.15. 9 UNEP/EA.6/Res.14. 10 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1771, No. 30822. 11 UNEP/EA.5/Res.5. A/RES/80/139 Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa 25-20764 4/11 Noting the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in An IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems, that climate change creates additional stresses on land, exacerbating existing risks to livelihoods, biodiversity, human and ecosystem health, infrastructure and food systems, and that many land-related responses that contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, such as agroforestry and other agroecological and ecosystem-based adaptation practices, among others, can also combat desertification, land degradation and drought and enhance food security, Recognizing the interdependencies between biodiversity loss, pollution, water scarcity, climate change, desertification, land degradation and drought, and their interlinkages with food security and human well-being, including health, Deeply concerned about the continuous trend in land degradation and the fact that the impacts of desertification, land degradation and drought are felt most strongly by people in vulnerable situations, Recognizing the important contribution of the sustainable management of lakes and other freshwater ecosystems in tackling environmental challenges, Welcoming the convening of the United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028, in New York from 22 to 24 March 2023, and looking forward to the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to Accelerate the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, to be co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, and the 2028 United Nations Conference on the Final Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028, to be hosted by Tajikistan, Recognizing that combating desertification, land degradation and drought is important for sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) pandemic and other health emergencies, that it is important to integrate land conservation, protection and restoration, sustainable land management, degraded soil and terrestrial ecosystems restoration, combating desertification and the aim of land degradation neutrality into the global agenda for sustainable development, and that careful targeting of the COVID‑19 recovery investments, including land restoration, creates economic opportunities that contribute to environmental sustainability and poverty eradication, Recalling the United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030, 12 and acknowledging that all types of forests provide essential ecosystem services, such as timber, food, fuel, fodder, non‑wood products and shelter, as well as soil and water conservation and clean air, that the sustainable management of forests and trees outside forests is vital to the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda and that forests prevent land degradation and desertification and reduce the risk of floods, soil erosion, landslides and avalanches, droughts, sand and dust storms and other disasters, Recalling also the decisions of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, 13 stressing the importance of their effective implementation, noting the Riyadh Political Declaration, which urged the need to address desertification, land _______________ 12 See resolution 71/285. 13 ICCD/COP(16)/24/Add.1. Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa A/RES/80/139 5/11 25-20764 degradation and drought, recognizing the importance of proactive drought management, resilience-building and impact mitigation, the continued importance of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 and enhancing sustainable and resilient agriculture, and taking note of the commitment to mobilize large-scale investments in land restoration projects and programmes, while highlighting the need to strengthen international cooperation in support of developing countries and communities most vulnerable to desertification, land degradation and drought, Taking note with appreciation of the launch of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, which attracted significant financial commitments, Taking note also of the establishment of the International Drought Resilience Observatory, an artificial intelligence-driven global platform developed with the support of the International Drought Resilience Alliance to assist countries in assessing and enhancing their capacity to cope with increasingly severe droughts, as major steps towards strengthening proactive drought management, building resilience and mitigating impacts, Recalling the work and taking note of the report of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought during the triennium 2022–2024, tasked with identifying and evaluating all options, including, inter alia, global policy instruments and regional policy frameworks, and linking, where relevant, to national plans, as appropriate, to effectively manage drought under the Convention, including supporting a shift from reactive to proactive drought management, Reaffirming the importance of government leadership and multi-stakeholder partnerships and increasing private engagement for the sustainable management, restoration and rehabilitation of ecosystems, biodiversity and degraded land, Taking note of the creation of a Caucus for Indigenous Peoples and a Caucus for Local Communities, which contributes to ensuring an approach that guarantees its representativeness and the unique perspectives and priorities of Indigenous Peoples as well as of local communities, and in alignment with the principles of the Convention, Taking note also of the ongoing efforts of the Gender Caucus, which contributes to fostering an inclusive approach in the implementation of the Convention, the Gender Action Plan and its road map, by promoting the active participation and leadership of all women in addressing desertification, land degradation and drought in alignment with the principles of the Convention, Recognizing the Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats to prevent, halt and reverse land degradation adopted by the leaders of the Group of 20 in Riyadh in 2020, as well as the Riyadh Leaders’ Declaration, and noted in the subsequent Group of 20 Leaders’ Declarations, Highlighting the work of the Convention secretariat through the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme, which has supported 113 countries and is currently implementing Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme 2.0, assisting 18 of these countries to refine targets, enhance monitoring systems and develop integrated land-use plans and investment frameworks, as well as an Integrated Land Use Planning project that is also being implanted with funding from the Global Environment Facility to support countries in spatial planning that aligns with voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality targets and large-scale land restoration initiatives across multiple regions which, by mid-2024, had mobilized 946 million dollars for 29 projects, A/RES/80/139 Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa 25-20764 6/11 Recognizing the launch of the International Drought Resilience Alliance with a view to enhancing drought resilience and the celebration of its first plenary on the margins of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties, in Riyadh, Noting the Drought Resilience +10 Conference, held in Geneva from 30 September to 2 October 2024, Highlighting the importance of multi-stakeholder participation at the local, subnational, national and regional levels and from all sectors of society, including civil society organizations, local government and the private sector, as appropriate, in the implementation of the Convention and its 2018–2030 Strategic Framework, Recognizing the value of knowledge, education, science and new technology to sustainable land management, including making use of, inter alia, the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, emphasizing the importance of science-based decision-making and that science and technology to combat desertification, land degradation and drought should therefore be further promoted, and acknowledging the work of the Science-Policy Interface of the Convention, Welcoming the convening of the global observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought under the theme “Restore the Land. Unlock the opportunities”, by the Government of Colombia, in Bogotá on 17 June 2025, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 79/207 on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa;14 2. Notes the recent appointment of the new Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and expresses its support for her tenure; 3. Welcomes the convening of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, held in Riyadh from 2 to 13 December 2024, under the theme “Our land. Our future”, and the adoption of its decisions and calls for their full implementation, and looks forward to the convening of the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties, to be held in Ulaanbaatar, from 17 to 28 August 2026; 4. Also welcomes the convening of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as the Meetings of the Parties to the Protocols to the Convention, held in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November 2024, under the theme “Peace with nature”, as well as the two resumed sessions of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held online from 3 to 6 December 2024 and in Rome, Italy, from 25 to 27 February 2025, takes note of their adopted decisions, and looks forward to the seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties and the meetings of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meetings of the Parties to the Protocols to the Convention, to be held in Yerevan, Armenia, from 18 to 30 October 2026; 5. Further welcomes the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and urges its early, inclusive and effective implementation; _______________ 14 A/80/373, sect. II. Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa A/RES/80/139 7/11 25-20764 6. Urges the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the agreed intergovernmentally negotiated outcomes and decisions of the subsequent United Nations climate change conferences; 7. Invites Member States to support efforts to implement the strategic objectives of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa; 8. Welcomes the voluntary commitment of the Parties to the Convention to accelerate the restoration of 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 by improving data gathering and monitoring to track progress against the achievement of land restoration commitments and establishing a new partnership model for large-scale integrated landscape investment programmes; 9. Strongly encourages the Parties to the Convention to apply and align with the 2018–2030 Strategic Framework of the Convention, to consider refining their voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality targets, as appropriate, and mainstream those targets in their national policies, programmes, plans and processes relating to desertification, land degradation and drought, and to implement the Strategic Framework, taking into account the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development;15 10. Welcomes the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group to oversee the midterm evaluation process related to the 2018–2030 Strategic Framework of the Convention, takes note of its recommendations from the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties, and encourages Parties, with the support of the Convention secretariat, to consider its findings, implement its recommendations and strengthen monitoring, reporting, resource mobilization and access to funding from multiple sources to advance actions, including for the development of large-scale projects to combat desertification and land degradation and mitigate the effect of drought; 11. Reaffirms that reducing land degradation and achieving land degradation neutrality has the potential to act as an accelerator and integrator for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and respond to the overall objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;16 12. Encourages Member States to pursue considering target 15.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals as an integrator and accelerator to achieve other Sustainable Development Goals; 13. Reiterates the need to combat desertification, reduce land degradation, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world, recalls with appreciation the voluntary Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme consistent with the Convention and the work of the secretariat of the Convention and partners to assist Parties to the Convention in carrying out voluntary target-setting activities, emphasizes the need for capacity-building and opportunities for Parties that have yet to set land degradation neutrality targets, and in this respect reiterates its invitation to Parties to the Convention that have not yet subscribed to the programme to do so; 14. Recognizes that sustainable land management approaches and technologies, including through nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based approaches and other management and conservation approaches, in line with resolution 5/5 of the _______________ 15 Resolution 69/313, annex. 16 Resolution 70/1. A/RES/80/139 Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa 25-20764 8/11 United Nations Environment Assembly, constitute promising options to evaluate and consider in connection with sequestering carbon and enhancing the resilience of people and ecosystems affected by desertification, land degradation and drought, as well as the adverse effects of climate change and biodiversity loss; 15. Also recognizes the launch of the Communities of Learning and Practice on Drought Management, aimed at engaging national focal points and drought experts across countries and regions, promoting bottom-up approaches, utilizing the integrated components of the Convention’s Drought Toolbox and supporting the dissemination of lessons learned to national, regional, and global processes; 16. Further recognizes the importance of applying new and innovative technologies and enabling policies and approaches, as well as sharing best practices, in combating desertification, land degradation and drought, as well as enhancing drought resilience, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to identify, as appropriate, those technologies, enabling policies and best practices in his report on the implementation of the present resolution; 17. Encourages the entities of the United Nations system, when designing and implementing their programmes and projects, to take into account the role of achieving land degradation neutrality as a potential accelerator to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; 18. Underlines the importance of comprehensive reporting, follow-up and review at the global, national and regional levels, as appropriate, in order to track progress in the implementation of the Convention, welcomes in this regard the convening of the twenty second session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention in Riyadh, from 2 to 13 December 2024, and looks forward to the convening of the twenty-third session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention in Panama City from 1 to 5 December 2025; 19. Reiterates the invitation to Parties to the Convention to take measures to ensure, as appropriate, that their relevant institutions adopt a proactive approach to drought management and integrate drought resilience and risk management, sustainable livestock and agricultural policies, drought forecasting work, sustainable water management and climate information and climate change impact assessments into relevant policymaking processes and initiatives; 20. Takes note of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, with a view to ensuring its timely and effective support to countries vulnerable to drought and land degradation; 21. Reiterates its invitation to the Parties to the Convention to provide the Executive Secretary of the Convention with full support in the fulfilment of her mandate and in promoting the implementation of the Convention; 22. Stresses the urgent need to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change, extreme weather events and sand and dust storms, and in this regard urges Member States to continue to engage in adaptation planning processes and to enhance cooperation in disaster risk reduction; 23. Recognizes the contributions of Indigenous Peoples and of local communities, including their knowledge, to combating desertification, land degradation and drought; 24. Invites the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, which was formed at the twenty-fourth meeting of the senior officials of the Environment Management Group, in September 2018, and other relevant United Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa A/RES/80/139 9/11 25-20764 Nations entities to continue their collaboration to assist affected country Parties in developing and implementing national and regional policies on sand and dust storms; 25. Recalls its resolution 78/314 of 10 July 2024, in which it proclaimed 2025– 2034 the United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, within existing structures and available resources, with the aim of enhancing international and regional cooperation and supporting and scaling up efforts to prevent, halt and mitigate the negative effects of sand and dust storms, especially on affected countries; 26. Recognizes that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls remain a crucial contribution to the effective implementation of the Convention, including its 2018–2030 Strategic Framework, and to the achievement of the Goals of the 2030 Agenda, stresses the importance of Parties to the Convention and partners striving to ensure the equal participation of women and men in planning, decision- making and implementation at all levels and further achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, as well as women’s full, equal, effective and meaningful participation in desertification, land degradation and drought-related policies and activities, and also stresses the importance of the effective implementation of the four priority thematic areas of the Gender Action Plan adopted by the parties to the Convention; 27. Reiterates the invitation to the secretariat and the Global Mechanism of the Convention to continue to collaborate and build partnerships with the secretariats of the other Rio conventions, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), other United Nations entities, international organizations and other relevant organizations to explore further ways of strengthening awareness-raising, improving the Gender Action Plan and developing further tools and guidelines for the use of Parties in the thematic areas of the Gender Action Plan and the gender-responsive implementation of the Convention; 28. Recalls the invitation to Parties to the Convention to legally recognize rights to equal use and ownership of land for women and the enhancement of women’s equal access to land and land tenure security, as well as the promotion of gender- sensitive measures to combat desertification, land degradation and drought and achieve land degradation neutrality, taking into account the national context, and in this context notes the Abidjan Declaration on Achieving Gender Equality for Successful Land Restoration, which promotes all measures necessary to identify and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, with particular attention to the rights of older women, widows, women with disabilities and young women; 29. Encourages Parties to the Convention to follow the principles of implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security 17 in the implementation of activities to combat desertification, land degradation and drought; 30. Encourages the public and private sectors to continue to invest in developing, adapting and scaling up the application of technologies, enabling policies, methods and tools to combat desertification, land degradation and drought in different regions, and to boost knowledge exchange, including of traditional knowledge with the consent of the knowledge holders, skills training, capacity- building and sharing of technologies on mutually agreed terms; 31. Encourages Parties to the Convention to continue to promote the prevention of desertification, land degradation and drought with an integrated _______________ 17 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, document CL 144/9 (C 2013/20), appendix D. A/RES/80/139 Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa 25-20764 10/11 landscape approach by sustainably managing land and water resources, avoiding practices that degrade land and rehabilitating and restoring already degraded land; 32. Encourages also developed countries Party to the Convention and other relevant stakeholders to actively support the efforts of developing countries Party to the Convention in promoting sustainable land management practices and in seeking to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by providing substantial financial resources from all sources, facilitated access to appropriate technology on mutually agreed terms and other forms of support, including through capacity-building measures; 33. Recognizes the benefits gained from cooperation through the sharing of climate and weather information, forecasting and early warning systems related to desertification, land degradation and drought, while also taking account of sand and dust storms, at the global, regional and subregional levels, and in this regard likewise recognizes the need for further cooperation between Parties to the Convention and relevant organizations in the sharing of related information, forecasting and early warning systems; 34. Calls upon the United Nations entities to mainstream drought resilience in their programmes when supporting countries prone to droughts or already affected, with an emphasis on enhancing preparation and resilience, noting the need for drought management through, inter alia, impactful policies, early warning systems, preparedness and mitigation, land restoration, sustainable agricultural and livestock policies and related actions to advance the neutrality of land degradation, in countries affected by drought and/or desertification; 35. Encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to harness opportunities for leveraging synergies among the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements, as well as the 2030 Agenda, and in this respect welcomes the ongoing efforts to strengthen synergies among the secretariats of the aforementioned conventions; 36. Takes note of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification and the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and calls for measures to explore and promote consumption and production patterns that conserve and protect land; 37. Welcomes the convening of the thirtieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025, and looks forward to the convening of the thirty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in 2026; 38. Notes with appreciation the financial contributions that have been made by Member States and other donors towards the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund, and invites Member States and other donors to make further contributions to the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund and the drought initiative of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa; 39. Decides to include, in the United Nations calendar of conferences and meetings for the year 2026 and subsequent years, the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and each of its subsidiary bodies, and requests the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa A/RES/80/139 11/11 25-20764 Secretary-General to continue to make provisions for those sessions in the proposed programme budgets; 40. Acknowledges the commitment of the Parties to the Convention to boost drought resilience by identifying the expansion of arid, semi-arid, dry subhumid areas and drylands, improving national policies and early warning systems linked to early action, learning and sharing knowledge, building partnerships and coordinating action, and mobilizing drought finance to support a shift from reactive to proactive drought management, and recognizes the ongoing efforts of the Coalition for Disaster- Resilient Infrastructure, the Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership, the Early Warnings for All initiative and the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative; 41. Also acknowledges the decision of the Conference of the Parties at its fifteenth session with respect to promoting decent land-based jobs for youth and land- based youth entrepreneurship and strengthening youth participation in the processes relating to the Convention; 42. Reaffirms the continuation, for a further five-year period, of the current institutional linkage and related administrative arrangements with the United Nations Secretariat, to be reviewed by both the General Assembly and the Conference of the Parties no later than 31 December 2026; 43. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly, at its eighty-first session, a report on the implementation of the present resolution, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session, under the item entitled “Sustainable development”, the sub-item entitled “Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa”. 64th plenary meeting 15 December 2025

UN Project. “A/RES/80/139.” UN Project, https://un-project.org/votes/resolution/A-RES-80-139/. Accessed .

Copy citation