The UNCCD is the main international political framework for desertification, but several UN and inter-governmental organisations, including the Food Agriculture Organisation, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, complement its activities by funding a variety of projects and programmes. Links to a number of these are provided in the articles below.

The European Union, through its Research Framework Programmes, also makes a major contribution to research into the causes and consequences of desertification. This is shown separately in »Recent European research.