The 12-day conference in Buenos Aires will bring together more than 2,000 people, including delegates from 191 countries, UN agencies, NGOs and others.

It is set to feature Tuesday-Thursday the UNCCD's first-ever scientific conference, with a view to providing common indicators to evaluate the impact and performance of measures to combat land degradation.

Some 40 percent of the earth's surface has been classified as dry land, and it holds one third of the world's population, according to the UNCCD.