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The purpose of this learning report is to generate knowledge and share experience with the implementation of land degradation neutrality (LDN) to create a better understanding of practices that work best for mainstreaming LDN into national sustainable development agendas, learning from ongoing applications of the LDN framework in the portfolio of Global Environment Facility projects.
The portfolio comprises 67 projects approved between 2016 and 2022 during the GEF-6 and GEF-7 replenishment cycles, implemented in a total of 56 countries covering all regional United Nations Convention to Combat Desertifcation (UNCCD) Annexes. The projects are implemented by nine different GEF agencies and are in various stages of implementation ranging from project preparation to mid-term evaluation stage. The total investment in these projects is $320 million in GEF grants and over $2.5 billion in co-financing.
The desk review of the entire portfolio shows that LDN pathways are well integrated in project design, with projects harnessing multiple synergies, most notably between LDN and biodiversity objectives. The review also indicates that the use of the LDN guidelines developed by the GEF’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel is significantly improving the integration of the LDN concept in project designs. Most projects address policy coherence at the national level and half of them include elements for LDN mainstreaming in national policy and regulatory frameworks.
A further in-depth assessment of 10 selected LDN projects revealed various best practices and generated valuable lessons in early implementation stages of these projects.
Among the best practices that are applied in the case studies are integrated land use planning and LDN monitoring frameworks that facilitate cross-sectoral coordination, the use of the LDN framework to enhance policy coherence, stakeholder engagement to integrate LDN into local planning processes, addressing land tenure and gender equality as enabling factors for LDN, engaging with the private sector as a factor for success, and leveraging innovative financing mechanism to support LDN implementation.
