Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to share the link to the video from the CLP webinar “Bridging the Gap: Evolving Finance for Integrated Drought Management”, held on 8 October.
Thank you very much to all participants who contributed to making this webinar such a success.
Dear colleagues,
You are warmly invited to an upcoming CLP-organized webinar on:
Bridging the Gap: Evolving Finance for Integrated Drought Management
When: Wednesday, 8 October 2025 | 13:00–14:30 CET
📍 Where: Zoom (registration required)
🔗 Register here: https://gwp-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/bCZTMqXSRSWOQrrdWBNjgQ#/regist…
🌐 Event page: https://www.unccd.int/events/other/bridging-gap-evolving-finance-integr…
Why attend?
Drought is an urgent and still under-financed challenge cutting across agriculture, water, energy, and health sectors.
Following COP16—where drought resilience featured prominently—this session aims to:
• Take stock of current financing efforts
• Showcase global and national perspectives
• Explore practical solutions for integrating drought finance into sectoral and climate planning
Join us to hear from global institutions and national experts working at the frontlines of drought resilience.
Please, share this invitation with colleagues that might be interested in topic.
We look forward to your participation in this important conversation.
New FAO-led PFI Project Launches in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Tackle Land Degradation and Build Resilience
I am pleased to share that Bosnia and Herzegovina officially launched a new project under the Peace Forest Initiative (PFI) framework during the high-level forum in Seoul (September 1, 2025), co-hosted by UNCCD and the Korea Forest Service.
The project, titled "Restoring Ecosystems via Sustainable, Integrated Management of Land-Based Resources" (UNUN/BIH/024/CCD), will be implemented by FAO in cooperation with entity-level ministries and institutions.
What this brings to BiH:
- Establishment of an Interministerial Working Group to enhance cross-entity cooperation.
- Piloting agroforestry-based restoration in Čapljina and Trebinje.
- Adoption of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Roadmap.
- Launch of a 20-year Land and Peace Strategy linking environmental restoration and conflict prevention.
- Strong focus on drought resilience, rural livelihoods, and integrated land governance.
Learn more:
Peace Forest Initiative:
https://www.unccd.int/our-work/flagship-initiatives/peace-forest-initia…
Ground for Peace report:
https://www.unccd.int/resources/publications/ground-peace-land-restorat…
Dear colleagues,
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the information regarding the TRANSFER Danube project (InTegRAted moNitoring System For agro-climatic risks within DanubE Region), which was officially launched on 1st April 2025. This marks the beginning of a cross-border initiative aimed at enhancing climate resilience in the agricultural sector throughout the Danube Region.
Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro is one of the official partners in this project.
Implemented within the Interreg Danube Region Programme under the thematic priority “A greener, low-carbon Danube Region”, the project addresses the growing impact of climate change on agriculture. It focuses on analysing emerging patterns of extreme weather events—such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves—and on developing innovative tools and strategies to support sustainable adaptation in the agricultural sector.
A key output of the project will be the development of a transnational Danube e-platform. This platform will serve as an integrated hub of climate, water resources, and agricultural data, providing access to maps, models, good practices, and response strategies. It will also support knowledge transfer and promote cross-border cooperation by offering tools tailored to help stakeholders - especially those in vulnerable crop regions (with a focus on winter wheat and maize) - adapt to the increasing challenges of climate change. In cooperation with partners across the Danube Region, the project will establish a standardised monitoring system for the phenological status of selected agricultural crops. This will form the basis for evaluating crop-specific water balances and yield projections, ultimately strengthening climate resilience in farming communities.
Beyond technological solutions, TRANSFER Danube seeks to raise awareness among policy makers and the private agricultural sector about the long-term effects of climate change on agricultural productivity. The project’s main target groups include local and regional decision-makers, agricultural policy experts, and farmers, all of whom will benefit directly from the project’s outputs. By encouraging transdisciplinary cooperation and improving the dissemination of scientific knowledge, the project aims to increase the impact of climate and agricultural research across the Danube Region. The tools and strategies developed through TRANSFER Danube will not only serve local needs but also offer transferable solutions adaptable to other European regions facing similar climate-related challenges.
The project consortium brings together 11 partners from 9 countries: Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Montenegro, and Austria.
The total project budget is EUR 1,842,379.96, of which EUR 1,473,903.96 is covered by the Interreg Danube Region Programme co-funded by the European Union (more information about the programme: https://interreg-danube.eu/). The project will be implemented over 30 months, running from April 2025 to September 2027.
If you find it interesting, for more information visit project website: https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/TRANSFER-Danube.
How is the drought situation in your country?
Sharing from Bosnia and Herzegovina:
In Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the last recorded rainfall was on May 29th (21 mm) — since then, we’ve had zero precipitation throughout June. This is unprecedented: looking at historical data (Sarajevo-Bjelave, 1949–2024), we have never had a June without any rainfall. The average for June is 88 mm, and even in the driest year (2012), there were still 12 mm.
Similar reports are coming from Serbia, where June was extremely dry, pushing concerns beyond meteorological and hydrological droughts to very clear socio-economic impacts due to expected yield reductions.
This raises important questions for our region:
- How is the situation developing in your countries?
- Are you seeing comparable rainfall deficits and stress on agriculture?
- How are your institutions responding — any new emergency measures, or acceleration of drought adaptation plans?
I would also like to thank my colleague Dr. Ana Vuković Vimić for raising and framing this issue so clearly in our recent discussions; it truly deserves more regional and global attention.
As a region, we often go under the radar in global drought assessments, yet it’s clear that Central and Eastern Europe is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Perhaps this is the right time to strengthen our regional voice and ensure we’re recognized as a drought-prone area in global adaptation dialogues.
Looking forward to hearing your experiences, data and thoughts — let’s exchange and maybe even lay foundations for stronger regional cooperation on drought risk reduction!
Hi everyone, my name is Sara Riade, and I’m currently working as a consultant with the UNCCD in the Global Policy Advocacy and Regional Cooperation (GPARC) Unit. I’ll be helping manage the CLP page and supporting community engagement.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need any guidance or support navigating the platform — I’m more than happy to help!
Looking forward to connecting with you all.
Dear colleagues,
I want to share with you an interesting upcoming event that might be of value to our CLP community.
The GEO-WB6 online seminar will take place on June 25th, 2025 at 11:00 AM CET, featuring a presentation by Francelino Rodrigues from FAO Albania on the topic:
"Digital Agriculture and Rural Transformation (DART): Shaping Inclusive Digital Futures in Albania’s Countryside"
📝 Registration link: https://www.geo-wb6.net/events
This seminar is part of the GEO-WB6 initiative, which supports the development of geoinformation capacities in the Western Balkans to strengthen agriculture and natural resource management. More about the project: www.geo-wb6.net
The event is open to all – feel free to join if interested
Dear colleagues,
I would like to share with you the link to the upcoming webinar titled “When the Rains Fail: Catalyzing Drought Action for Proactive Resilience”, which will be held tomorrow.
Don’t miss the opportunity to join this important discussion on innovative policies, strategic investments, and practical actions aimed at protecting vulnerable communities before drought strikes.
Register here 👉 on.cgiar.org/4dTUHNk
Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to inform you that the book "The Soils of Montenegro" has been published by Springer. It’s a significant contribution to the understanding of our soil diversity and characteristics.
If you are interested, you can access it via the following link:
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-82919-2
I’m sharing the link to the WMO Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update for 2025–2029, which forecasts that global temperatures will remain at or near record levels over the next five years, heightening climate risks and their impacts on societies, economies, and sustainable development.
Key messages
• 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed 2024 as the warmest on record
• 86% chance that at least one of next five years will be more than 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average
• 70% chance that 5-year average warming for 2025-2029 will be more than 1.5 °C
• Long-term warming (averaged over decades) remains below 1.5°C
• Arctic warming predicted to continue to outstrip global average
• Precipitation patterns have big regional variations
Please, read more on https://wmo.int/publication-series/wmo-global-annual-decadal-climate-up….
