The present summary was prepared by the President of the General Assembly to reflect the discussions of the dialogue.

The High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought1 (DLDD) was held on Monday, 14 June 2021 with a continuation on Friday, 2 July 2021. In accordance with General Assembly resolutions 74/220 and 75/218, the President of the General Assembly convened this Highlevel Dialogue to assess the progress made in the fight against DLDD and map the way forward in view of the end of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification and the beginning of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

The objectives of the Dialogue were to:
• Bring attention to recovery opportunities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic that can be aligned with action to address DLDD through job-creating projects in land restoration, regenerative agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and investments in sustainable land management;
• Elevate the discourse on DLDD issues’ global significance for the entire SDG agenda and for climate, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction;
• Build upon the commitments and initiatives from Member States and stakeholders made during the Summits on Biodiversity and Climate Change, along the path to the upcoming Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the 2021 Food Systems Summit;
• Encourage all UN Member States to adopt and implement Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets and National Drought Plans, in line with implementing the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions and future commitments under the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework;
• Call for countries to support the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund and other funding mechanisms to scale up land restoration by all sectors of society; and
• Share experiences and best practices, cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models that advance green, resilient and inclusive recovery strategies.

In order to support results-oriented discussions centered on accelerating implementation efforts, the President of the General Assembly circulated a brief prepared by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification entitled “Restored Land, Healthy People, Green Recovery: Build Forward Better with Land-Centered Solutions”.2

The Dialogue3consisted of an opening segment, two panel discussions, a high-level plenary and a Call to Action. A spill over session to accommodate plenary statements was held on 2nd July 2021. The participating Heads of State and Government, Ministers, intergovernmental organizations, the UN system and stakeholder representatives engaged in the Dialogue via in-person presentations, prerecorded statements or livestream. 65 Member States delivered statements during the plenary.

The Dialogue highlighted the need for urgent action at the highest levels to halt DLDD. The interventions from the participants demonstrated strong commitment to this aim, and reaffirmed that addressing desertification, land degradation and drought, and achieving land degradation neutrality, are pathways to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic. numerous other major conferences and events taking place. This presents a clear opportunity to leverage accelerated action on land-based solutions for climate and biodiversity action, and beyond.