WOCAT

Desertification and Drought Day 2026 invites us to

• Recognize rangelands’ economic contribution to national and regional economies, their role in sustaining biodiversity and wildlife and the multiple benefits they provide, from regulating water cycles to storing carbon
• Respect pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, whose mobility, customary governance systems and ecological knowledge are essential to maintaining the health and productivity of these landscapes
• Restore rangelands by investing in sustainable land and water management, strengthening governance, improving drought preparedness and supporting community-led restoration efforts

WOCAT calls for all that are commited to recognize, respect and restore rangelands, to 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 on rangelands restoration, to 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 and to 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 with your community.

The planet doesn’t argue. It doesn’t negotiate. It sends signals—rising seas, raging wildfires, heatwaves, melting glaciers. We said 1.5°C was the limit. We are crossing it. But listen closer now. Inspired by nature solutions are being implemented directly on the land. There is a database full of knowledge on land management practices that show how we can take care of the environment.

Together with the entire GEF partnership, WOCAT participates at the Global Forum for the GEF Integrated Programs to exchange experiences, share lessons, and strengthen collaboration around integrated programming. Together we will reflect on progress achieved, share innovations, challenges, and emerging good practices and identify insights to inform future GEF programming and investment strategies.

🗓️ Date: April 13-17, 2026 📍Nairobi, Kenya

This new documentation in the WOCAT database showcases how degraded maize fields are converted into grassland to improve livestock management and restore soil health. After five years of maize cultivation, yields declined as the once fertile soil became sandy and dry. Grass planting offered a sustainable alternative, improving ground cover, moisture, and feed availability. The documentation of this practice has been facilitated by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI).

At the GEO Symposium 2026 in Geneva last week, WOCAT was officially announced as a Participating Organisation of Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The GEO Symposium brought together WOCAT, CDE, GEOMountains, ICIMOD, GEO LDN, CBAS and the whole GEO community to dig into a question that sounds simple but isn't: how do you reliably measure and monitor land degradation in mountain landscapes?

A new documentation in the WOCAT database shows how wild cherry seeds are collected and sown in an open-air nursery within a schoolyard. The planting area is fenced by wooden boards and filled with a humus-rich soil. A light mulch, such as sawdust, is added to retain moisture and control weeds. This practice enhances the survival rate of seedlings – which are planted out in school groves as well as being available for regreening projects. The documentation of this practice has been facilitated by WWF Mongolia.

Saudi Arabia is strengthening its capacity to document and scale up Sustainable Land Management practices, with practices documented in WOCAT's global database and a dedicated national platform. To strengthen the national review process, a two-phase training workshop in collaboration with FAO Saudi Arabia and NCVC equipped Saudi experts with hands-on skills in documenting Sustainable Land Management practices in Arabic and in review and quality assurance. This lays the foundation for accurate, consistent, and credible national contributions to global knowledge about Sustainable Land Management.