Preparations for Rio+20 also occurred at the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP 10) held October 2011 in Changwon, Republic of Korea.
The high-level segment of the meeting held a roundtable under the theme, “The UNCCD in the context of Rio+20: addressing desertification, land degradation and drought as a cornerstone of the green economy.” The chairman’s summary included the following points, which were raised by Parties during the meeting:
• Land has the potential to respond to today’s major challenges including addressing climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
• The UNCCD could be further supported through the establishment of an intergovernmental panel on land and soil so as to better monitor UNCCD implementation.
• Rio+20 could recognize the fact that land degradation has gone beyond those ecosystems identified in the Convention text at the time of its adoption (arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas).
• The Rio summit could recognize the UNCCD as a unique intergovernmental process that can address land degradation issues globally.
• Synergistic activities among the three Rio Conventions should be strengthened, especially when considering their implementation at national level, through national action programmes (NAPs), national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs) and national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).
• Rio+20 must address the linkage between poverty and land degradation, especially when discussing the green economy.