Healthy land is “our real collective capital” in creating a post-pandemic world of peace, prosperity, and equity. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), stressed this point at the first-ever virtual meeting of the UNCCD Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC). The Committee convened as a non-negotiating, information-sharing session with a shortened agenda. Despite connectivity challenges for some participants, the daily two-hour sessions provided an opportunity to share experiences on issues to be addressed at the next session of the UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP 15) in late 2021, with a focus on:

status of implementing Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) projects, including progress with operationalizing the LDN Fund;
support to the UNCCD Drought Initiative, and policy frameworks adopted by parties relating to drought, gender, and land tenure; and
the interim report of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on effective policy and implementation measures for addressing drought under the UNCCD.

The LDN Fund Manager, Mirova, reported that it has secured over USD 150 million since the Fund’s inception in 2018, with 70% coming from private funding sources, and over 220 projects screened to date. While welcoming the growing capitalization of the Fund, he expressed concern about the need to secure social and environmental safeguards and ensure the involvement of local stakeholders in land governance processes.

During discussion of UNCCD policy initiatives, the issue of drought and how best to manage it, elicited extensive debate. Participants broadly welcomed the interim report of the IWG, which was established at COP 14 in 2019 to take stock of existing policy, implementation and institutional coordination frameworks on drought preparedness and response. African countries were vocal in stressing the severity of drought impacts in the region, in part due to accelerating climate change and human-induced land degradation. They reiterated calls for a UNCCD Drought Protocol, with dedicated financial resources, to ensure drought is given the attention it deserves. Alternative viewpoints favored enhancing collaboration with existing international programmes and specialized institutions working on drought.

The need to mainstream gender across all UNCCD programmes, including LDN actions was a recurring issue, with many noting the critical role that women play role in sustainable land management (SLM). There were calls to raise current ambition, as set out in the UNCCD’s Gender Action Plan, and to strive towards more systemic approaches.

In his closing remarks UNCCD Executive Secretary Thiaw noted that while the global pandemic has shrouded the timeline for COP 15 in uncertainty, there is a window of opportunity to reposition land at the center of a green recovery.

CRIC 19 convened in daily two-hour online sessions from 15-19 March 2021.

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