WOCAT 2020+ The Global Network for Sustainable Land Management
Implementing sustainable land management is essential for reducing land degradation and achieving climate and livelihood resilience. WOCAT, the Swiss founded Global Sustainable Land Management Platform, offers robust and up-to-date knowledge and tools for evidence-based decision-making to implement the most appropriate practices within a given context to improve land resources, ecosystems and livelihoods.
Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
---|---|---|---|
Global |
Agriculture & food security
Agricultural land resources
|
01.01.2021
- 31.12.2024 |
CHF 1’040’000
|
- Unversität Bern
-
Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation AGRICULTURE
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation Agricultural land resources
Cross-cutting topics The project promotes biodiversity.
Aid Type Mandate without fiduciary fund
Project and programme contribution
Project number 7F05918
Background | Inappropriate land management, along with climate change and associated disasters, place enormous pressure on natural resources, undermining land productivity and ecosystem resilience. Concerted efforts are needed to address these challenges, avoid, reduce or reverse land degradation, and aim for more sustainable landscapes. Global networks and knowledge platforms, such as WOCAT, the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies, founded by the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Bern in Switzerland, play a crucial role in tackling these challenges. WOCAT promotes the documentation, sharing and use of knowledge to support adaptation, innovation and decision-making in sustainable land management, brokers knowledge between science, policy and societal partners, and develops the capacity of institutions and stakeholders. |
Objectives | WOCAT 2020+ aims to be a leading and collaborative platform of expertise and a major transformative force in supporting countries and institutions around the world to scale up sustainable land management and foster related sustainable development goals addressed by the three Rio conventions (UN Convention to Combat Desertification, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Convention on Biological Diversity). Land users and the public benefit from more secure ecosystem services due to wide adoption and mainstreaming of sustainable land management facilitated by the WOCAT network and its partners. |
Target groups | International organizations, UNCCD and its parties, advisory services, non-governmental organizations, research institutes and academia |
Medium-term outcomes |
Outcome 1: WOCAT 2020+ is established, institutionalized and sustainably funded at global and regional level Outcome 2: WOCAT 2020+ provides and promotes state of the art sustainable land management knowledge and tools for adaptation and evidence-based decision-making and capacitates stakeholders in bringing sustainable land management to scale |
Results |
Expected results: Successful transition to a decentralized Capitalization on WOCAT database and tools Capacity development and guidance to UNCCD Results from previous phases: WOCAT Global Database: Enhanced global, open access database, available in five UN languages Strong increase of number of sustainable land management practices submitted to the WOCAT Database, totalling over 2000, and nearly 90’000 visits since 2016. WOCAT’s growing recognition in recent years have made it a global reference on sustainable land management: Referencing of the WOCAT Database in main assessment reports (e.g. IPCC report on Climate Change and Land), and use of the WOCAT Database in the design and implementation of sustainable land management projects by e.g. Global Environment Facility accredited agencies such as the World Bank or FAO. |
Directorate/federal office responsible |
SDC |
Project partners |
Contract partner Swiss Academic and Research Institution |
Coordination with other projects and actors | UNCCD |
Budget | Current phase Swiss budget CHF 1’040’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 950’000 |
Project phases | Phase 4 01.01.2021 - 31.12.2024 (Current phase) Phase 3 01.12.2015 - 30.04.2020 (Completed) Phase 2 01.01.2012 - 31.12.2015 (Completed) Phase 1 01.01.2008 - 31.12.2011 (Completed) |