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Guideline on the Integration of Sand and Dust Storm Management into Key Policy Areas









UNCCD and FAO. 2024. Guideline on the Integration of Sand and Dust Storm Management into Key Policy Areas. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Bonn and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.


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    Project
    Catalysing Investments and Actions to Enhance Resilience Against Sand and Dust Storms in Agriculture - TCP/INT/3802 2024
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    Sand and dust storms (SDS) have become increasingly frequent and severe due to factors such as land use changes and climate variability and change. These storms have substantial transboundary impacts, affecting various aspects of the environment, climate, health, agriculture, livelihoods and the socioeconomic well-being of individuals. These effects are particularly pronounced in arid and semi-arid regions where sand and dust storms (SDS) can pose significant threats to economic development. The agriculture sector is significantly influenced by SDS, as it is both a contributor to and impacted by the phenomenon. In response, during the Fourteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2019, a new imperative for addressing SDS was established. As a key member of the newly formed Coalition on Combating SDS, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has taken the role of chairing the Coalition since July 2020, succeeding the United Nations Environment Progamme (UNEP), to lead global efforts to tackle SDS within the agricultural context. Against this backdrop, this project aimed to enhance the resilience of agriculture-dependent communities to SDS. Furthermore, the project focused on increasing and strengthening knowledge surrounding SDS sources and their implications on agriculture, as well as promoting sustainable land use practices, primarily focusing on countries that are both major contributors to and victims of dust emissions, including Algeria, China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Mongolia. These countries, located within the SDS "risk belt” (also known as the “dust belt”), face potential threats to sustainable development and food security without immediate action. The project's outcomes contributed to the design of a broader interregional large SDS programme on agriculture with targeted funding sources, supported by the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms and potential partners, such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Sand and dust storms
    A guide to mitigation, adaptation, policy and risk management measures in agriculture
    2023
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    Sand and dust storms (SDS) are common in drylands with dust often transported over great distances, frequently across international boundaries. Such storms are important for ecosystem functioning, but they also create numerous hazards to society, in agriculture and other socioeconomic sectors. The yields and productivity of crops, trees, pastures and livestock are adversely affected by SDS. With climate change it is expected that droughts and land use changes will increase the frequency and risk of SDS. While agriculture is a major driver of SDS, agriculture is impacted by SDS and it is also part of the solution to combat SDS risks and mitigate their impacts. This guide aims to provide an overview of sand and dust storms and the impacts on agriculture and food systems. It gives a review of how agriculture can create SDS sources and highlights the impacts of SDS on agricultural production in source and deposition areas. It includes a range of high-impact, location- and context-specific practices to reduce SDS source and impacts on agriculture subsectors at local level, comprising technical and non-technical interventions. Moreover, it assesses how SDS risk is addressed at the policy level and discusses options for integrating SDS at national and regional levels into multi-hazard disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management (DRM) strategies or sectoral development programmes, followed by conclusions and recommendations. Urgent action must be taken now. Short-term responses need to be linked to long-term development actions to enhance combating SDS. The adverse impacts of SDS are likely to become even more severe in the future, particularly due to climate change, unless appropriate interventions are made.
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    Project
    Preventing and Mitigating Sand and Dust Storms in Mongolia’s Drylands - UNJP/MON/019/CCD 2023
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    More than 90 percent of the land of Mongolia faces a serious threat of desertification. Many intense desertification conditions and land degradation hotspots are found in Eastern Gobi province, including the busiest border point with China, Zamiin-Uud. The town has been seriously affected by land degradation and desertification, particularly due to demographic growth, the development of transboundary trade and increased transport movement. These phenomena aggravate the risks and impact of sand and dust storms (SDS), with negative consequences for living and environmental conditions. Building on previous initiatives in the region, this project was designed to demonstrate approaches to preventing and mitigating the negative impacts of SDS in Zamiin-Uud. It aimed to engage stakeholders in pilot measures with the goal of strengthening their capacity to apply sustainable, locally appropriate, inclusive land management practices to reduce the risks and impacts of SDS. It was implemented in close collaboration with the district government to ensure strong local ownership of the measures piloted.

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