Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention seeks to support countries to address Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought (DLDD). ( www.unccd.i... [Vollständig anzeigen] ) The Global Mechanism is an institution of the UNCCD, mandated to assist countries in the mobilization of financial resources from the public and private sector for activities that prevent, control or reverse desertification, land degradation and drought. As the operational arm of the convention, the Global Mechanism (GM) supports countries to translate the Convention into action including the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). The Peace Forest Initiative (PFI), launched during the 14th Session of the Conference of Parties of the UNCCD in 2019, aims to promote joint actions and cross-border cooperation on ecosystem (land, forest, water) restoration under the LDN approach while building confidence and peace in fragile and conflict affected areas. The UNCCD secretariat will play a central role in promoting and operationalizing the PFI through partnership building, noting its potential contribution to increasing cooperation on LDN, including land restoration and reforestation in trans-border areas in participating countries. LDN (SDG 15.3) can be effectively linked to the SDG 16 (peace and security) through PFI. The GM will provide PFI participating countries with assistance in formulating transformative projects and programmes to realize the vision of PFI to promote building confidence and peace