Land degradation and desertification are accelerating globally, while droughts are becoming more frequent and severe. Along with other human-induced pressures, they are increasingly undermining food security, biodiversity, water resources, climate resilience, and social stability. At the same time, the international landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented, marked by geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, growing inequalities, and declining trust in multilateral cooperation. Recent foresight analyses, such as Navigating New Horizons, highlight that global governance is entering a period of systemic turmoil, deep uncertainty, and interdependent environmental, technological, and geopolitical risks. Ecological tipping points, rapid technological change, and social fragmentation are reshaping the foundations of international cooperation.

In this context, achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) requires more than robust scientific evidence, demanding mechanisms capable of sustaining dialogue, trust, and collective action despite uncertainty and fragmentation.

Science diplomacy provides such a mechanism. It operates through three complementary and mutually reinforcing dimensions: science in diplomacy, whereby scientific knowledge informs international negotiations and policy decisions; diplomacy for science, whereby diplomatic processes enable international scientific cooperation; and science for diplomacy, whereby scientific collaboration builds trust, strengthens relationships, and maintains dialogue among countries. Together, these three dimensions ensure that science, besides informing international decision-making, also enables cooperation and fosters trust across geopolitical boundaries.

Within the UNCCD, these dimensions are already reflected in practice. The Science-Policy Interface (SPI) provides independent, policy-relevant scientific assessments that support negotiations and implementation (science in diplomacy). The Convention has created an enabling framework for international scientific cooperation through the development of harmonized methodologies, shared monitoring systems, Land Degradation Neutrality indicators, global drought monitoring initiatives, and collaborative knowledge platforms, allowing countries to generate, compare and exchange knowledge (diplomacy for science). Beyond knowledge production, the UNCCD also brings together scientists, policymakers, practitioners, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and civil society in long-term collaborative processes that foster trust, mutual learning and sustained dialogue across regions, even during periods of geopolitical tension (science for diplomacy).