UN General Assembly Seventy-sixth session
Items 20 (d), (e) and (f) of the provisional agenda*
Sustainable development:
Protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankind
Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa
Convention on Biological Diversity

A/76/225

26 July 2021
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the reports submitted by the secretariats of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

II. Report of the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa


A. Introduction


14. In its resolution 75/218 on the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the resolution at its seventy-sixth session. The present report constitutes an update for the Assembly on the principal activities that have been undertaken in that respect.


B. Implementation of General Assembly resolution 75/218


1. Nineteenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention

15. The nineteenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention was held for the first time in an online format from 15 to 19 March 2021, with two hours of daily online meetings. Owing to the special format, parties agreed not to constitute a contact group to finalize the official report of the session. Instead, they entrusted the Rapporteur with the finalization of the report on the basis of recordings from the session. The session brought together 138 parties, 9 United Nations agencies, 15 intergovernmental organizations and 63 civil society organizations.
16. At its nineteenth session, the Committee considered the following agenda items:
(a) Update on the implementation of the voluntary land degradation neutrality targets and related implementation efforts;
(b) Update on the operationalization of the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund;
(c) Update on the implementation of the Drought Initiative and related implementation efforts;
(d) Interim report of the intergovernmental working group on effective policy and implementation measures for addressing drought under the Convention.
17. The final report of the session, which includes the summaries of discussions on each agenda item, will constitute the basis for drafting decision text to be discussed and agreed upon during the twentieth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention, to be held in conjunction with the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention.

2. Preparation of the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa: date and venue

18. Considering the ongoing worldwide effects of COVID-19 and the evolution of the pandemic, holding the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties in 2021 was deemed no longer possible and the Bureau of the fourteenth session, meeting virtually on 8 April 2021, decided to postpone the fifteenth session to 2022, to be held on a date (between May and October 2022) and at venue to be confirmed in due course. The Bureau further entrusted the Executive Secretary with the mandate to pursue consultations with all relevant stakeholders with a view to organizing the forthcoming fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties within the agreed time frame.
19. On 21 June, the secretariat informed the Bureau of the fourteenth session that, by a letter dated 14 June, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire had confirmed its willingness to host the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties in May 2022.
20. In line with the provisions of decision 33/COP.14 on the date and venue of the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties, the Executive Secretary will enter into consultations with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire for the organization of the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties and report back to the Bureau on progress made in that respect.
21. During the same meeting, the Bureau of the fourteenth session further agreed to organize an extraordinary session of the Conference of the Parties in 2021, with a view to approving an interim budget for 2022. The modalities, timelines and procedures related to the organization of the extraordinary session are currently being addressed by the Bureau.

3. High-level dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought

22. In accordance with General Assembly resolutions 74/220 and 75/218, a high-level dialogue was convened under the auspices of the President of the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly on 14 June 2021, to assess the progress made in the fight against desertification, land degradation and drought and to map the way forward, in the light of the end of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification.
23. The high-level dialogue was opened by the President of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir. The opening segment featured statements by the President of the Economic and Social Council, Munir Akram; the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed; the President of the fourteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi; the Executive Secretary of the Convention, Ibrahim Thiaw; and a civil society representative, Hindou Ibrahim. Eminent scientist Robert Watson gave a keynote presentation.
24. Two interactive panels on the themes “Achieving land degradation neutrality to accelerate COVID-19 recoveries and the Decade of Action” and “Urgent global cooperation on land to deliver the future we want” were organized and co-chaired by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit, Agnes Kalibata, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bezos Earth Fund, Andrew Steer, respectively.
25. More than 65 Member States, including six Heads of State and Government, two Deputy Prime Ministers and 58 ministers, participated in three plenary sessions on 14 June and 2 July and underscored the fundamental importance of protecting and restoring land and the functions and services of ecosystems, as key to human survival and sustainable development. Many speakers also noted that land, as well as the concept of land degradation neutrality, is an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals, supporting multiple functions that are critical for progress worldwide. They called for better recognition of combating desertification, land degradation and drought as one of the priorities of the international agenda, noting its potential as a powerful accelerator towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and a crucial part of the action on climate change and biodiversity. The Executive Secretary of the Convention, Mr. Thiaw, summed up the deliberations in the closing remarks under the format of a call to action. He noted that there was a window of opportunity to champion a new restoration narrative that could reconnect people and nature through a high-level ambition on land stewardship. He further noted that investing in land-based solutions in the post-COVID-19 recovery efforts, especially in rural economies, was a potential win-win that could yield multiple benefits and accelerate the implementation of a range of Sustainable Development Goals, from addressing poverty, livelihoods and food and water security to building resilience to climate shocks.

4. Global celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought and outreach activities

26. Under the slogan, “Restoration. Land. Recovery”, on the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2021, a message was sent around the world that investing in activities that protect and restore land and ecosystems will boost the recovery from COVID-19 for communities, countries and economies worldwide.
27. The global observance on 17 June was hosted by Costa Rica and organized entirely online owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. At a virtual high-level forum hosted by the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, ministers from Algeria, Botswana, Iceland, Peru, Republic of Korea and Senegal reinforced the perspectives shared at the high-level dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought, that had been convened by the President of the General Assembly three days earlier. The Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly addressed the forum, and the sessions were moderated by the Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, Andrea Meza Murillo, and the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figures.
28. As part of the celebrations for the World Day, the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification announced the winners of the seventh Land for Life Award. An eight-member international jury declared Familial Forestry from Rajasthan, India, the winner for 2021 because of its innovative land restoration and conservation method that promoted the well-being of communities and improved their relationship with nature. The Global Landscapes Forum received the Land for Life Special Mention from the Executive Secretary of the Convention for its exceptional work as the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on sustainable and inclusive landscapes.
29. At the global observance, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction launched the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Special Report on Drought 2021. The observance programme was live-streamed on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, the Convention website and partially on United Nations Web TV.
30. A campaign associated with the World Day was conducted from February to 17 June 2021 to create opportunities to link land issues with other major international days, decades and events of the year, such as the launch of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Food Systems Summit.
31. The campaign and the event on 17 June reached over 150 million people around the world through social media, with the direct engagement of 280,000 people. A large number of influencers and celebrities used the Day’s hashtags to share their views and raise awareness. News articles were published in some of the world’s largest media services, with a total readership/viewership of nearly 707 million people in more than 60 countries.
32. At the time when the present report was prepared, over 100 governmental, intergovernmental and civil society organizations sent their observance event reports to the secretariat, sharing a variety of celebration activities, such as project and book launches, film screenings, exhibitions, art competitions and tree plantings.

5. Role of land restoration in building forward better after the pandemic

33. To support Member States and other stakeholders in their efforts to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic, in May 2021, the secretariat produced a Solution Brief highlighting the linkages between land restoration and a green recovery. It provides practical, verifiable information on the economic case for land restoration and its role in addressing several of the challenges exacerbated by the pandemic (job creation, food security, recovery of livelihoods, among others). Several Member States and other stakeholders referred to the Brief during their interventions at the high-level dialogue of the General Assembly referred to above and during the global observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

6. Collaboration with the Global Environment Facility

34. The ongoing collaboration between the Convention and the Global Environment Facility was further enhanced in the period under consideration. In addition to consultations between the Executive Secretary of the Convention and the Global Environment Facility, staff from the secretariat of the Convention took part in and provided input to the Global Environment Facility Technical Advisory Group meetings in preparation for the next replenishment cycle.
35. Cases were made for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of investing in land degradation programmes, including on land restoration. A similar programme to the Global Environment Facility land degradation umbrella programme for the Sahel is being developed for Caribbean small island developing States. Other programmes
are being considered to cover more regions. The Global Environment Facility enabling activities are being implemented by the Global Mechanism, in cooperation with the implementing agencies. Transformative projects and programmes on land degradation neutrality under the Convention have also been an effective way of collaborating with the Facility.
36. The secretariat of the Convention participated in the sixtieth meeting of the Council of the Global Environment Facility, which met from 14 to 18 June 2021. The Executive Secretary addressed the Council along with other heads of the treaties for which the Facility is serving as financial mechanism. He noted that while rates of land degradation have not slowed, there is greater recognition of the potential of land to contribute to building back better after the pandemic. He pointed out that land is increasingly an integrator across the Facility focal areas, given the capacity of restored lands to serve as carbon sinks, prevent biodiversity loss and enhance agricultural productivity, and thereby generate additional benefits such as boosting food security, job creation, empowering women and advancing rural development. Land degradation therefore merits more direct investment, in the wider context of a comprehensive integrated approach in Facility programmes. He also called for investment by the Facility in early warning systems, vulnerability and risk assessment and drought risk mitigation. He supported the inclusion of a focal area on drought as a prerequisite for the development of an operational programme. In the ensuing interactive dialogue between Council members and the Executive Secretaries, there was a strong case for integrated approaches as the secretariat of the Facility was preparing programming activities. The Executive Secretary of the Convention underlined the importance of the land sector in bringing Facility focal points together and in delivering global results.

7. Promotion of collaboration and partnerships for land

37. The secretariat of the Convention and the Global Mechanism have continued their active outreach to Member States, United Nations system organizations and processes, scientific and technical expert organizations working on land and civil society, with the aim of promoting collaboration and partnerships for addressing desertification, land degradation and drought. The statements made at the high-level dialogue and during the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought indicate that this outreach has been successful in improving awareness of the land agenda and increasing the commitment of countries and major organizations to advancing that agenda, with particular attention paid to the poorest and most marginalized rural communities. Such commitment is increasingly reflected in concrete action and initiatives: it was demonstrated, for example, at the One Planet Summit in January 2021, at which participating countries and other stakeholders pledged more than $14 billion to accelerate the implementation of the African Great Green Wall initiative; and the Group of 20 ministerial meeting in November 2020 at which a global initiative on reducing land degradation and enhancing conservation of terrestrial ecosystems was launched. The secretariat of the Convention continues to offer backstopping and information on, as well as to follow up on progress in, these and other relevant partnership initiatives.
38. The secretariat of the Convention has continued to strengthen its collaboration with the secretariats of the other two Rio conventions by launching a joint work programme that includes joint advocacy for the sustainable development agenda, including the preparation of a communications campaign to highlight the synergies between the three intergovernmental processes at the global and local levels.
39. With regard to the preparations for the Food Systems Summit, the secretariat of the Convention serves as the anchor agency for action track 3 (boost nature-positive production), working to bring the land restoration agenda to the centre of the preparations for the summit and liaising with other United Nations entities, as well as Member States, to promote their participation in efforts related to the Summit. The secretariat produced a publication that highlights the linkages between land degradation neutrality and nature-positive food production to support Member States in formulating their participation in activities related to the Summit.
40. The Convention has broadened its outreach to non-traditional partners and funding sources to find ways to support countries in combating land degradation, desertification and drought. This has included engaging with partners such as the World Economic Forum and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to promote entrepreneurship and technology intake or transfer; with other entities on topics related to financing instruments and mechanisms (blended finance, global fund structuring and sustainable bonds), as well as with African Risk Capacity on drought risk finance and insurance. The Convention is collaborating with the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund in identifying project opportunities that can meet the investment criteria of the Fund. The Convention is also partnering with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development on soil asset classification.

8. Land degradation neutrality target-setting programme and land restoration targets

41. Many Member States are committed to advancing land degradation neutrality as a practical framework for planning, implementing and monitoring their activities to meet Sustainable Development Goal 15 and the objectives of the strategic framework of the Convention for 2018–2030. The secretariat of the Convention and the Global Mechanism, in collaboration with numerous partners, are supporting these efforts through a land degradation neutrality target-setting programme, assistance for the development of bankable transformative land degradation neutrality projects and the facilitation of scientific and technical collaboration.
42. To date, 105 out of the 127 countries participating in the land degradation neutrality target-setting programme have successfully set voluntary land degradation neutrality targets, committing to restore over 450 million hectares of degraded land globally as a major contribution to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and to operational implementation synergies at the national level with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Bonn Challenge. More than 70 countries are developing transformative land-degradation neutrality projects, and several of these projects have already passed the first stages of accessing funding.
43. In order to support Member States in their voluntary efforts to achieve or exceed land degradation neutrality, the secretariat, the Global Mechanism and key partner organizations are building upon the results of a scientific assessment conducted by the Science-Policy Interface, in order to support their efforts to take into account land tenure and land-use planning conditions, as appropriate, for the creation of an enabling policy and regulatory environment for land degradation neutrality. The secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other relevant partners are collaborating to produce a technical guide on how to integrate the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security into the implementation of the Convention and land degradation neutrality, taking into account national contexts. In addition, the Science-Policy Interface is currently working on a new scientific assessment designed to provide science-based evidence on the potential contribution of integrated land-use planning and integrated landscape management to positive transformative change, achieving land degradation neutrality and addressing desertification, land degradation and drought issues.
44. The secretariat and the Science-Policy Interface, working in the intergovernmental and interorganizational context of the Group on Earth Observations Land Degradation Neutrality Initiative, organized a technology innovation competition for the development of a tool to support land-use planning in the context of land degradation neutrality, with the aim of inspiring innovation as well as collective and coordinated action. The winning prototype, Land-Use Planning for Land Degradation Neutrality, allows users to evaluate land-use and land management transition scenarios, providing visual and quantitative representations of land degradation gains and losses. The transition from the prototype to the full version of Land-Use Planning for Land Degradation Neutrality is expected by December 2021.


C. Observations and recommendations


45. Despite the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the meetings, events and collaboration on desertification, land degradation and drought have succeeded in maintaining and even increasing the attention paid by and the commitment of the international community to the implementation of the Convention. The success of the World Day outreach – with more than twice as many people reached as in 2020 – indicates that the messages regarding the importance of land resonate with the public. There is clearly momentum to advance the land restoration narrative, which reconnects people and nature through a high-level ambition on land stewardship.
46. Investing in land-based solutions in the post-COVID-19 recovery efforts has particularly high potential to yield multiple benefits and accelerate the implementation of a range of Sustainable Development Goals, from addressing poverty, livelihoods and food and water security to building resilience to climatic shocks. Such land-based investments could benefit the poorest rural areas in particular, triggering a long-lasting transformative process whereby environmental restoration generates jobs, well-being and stability.
47. Healthy, productive land is a precondition for many global industries, including the production of food, fodder and fibre. High-level participants of the recent events and meetings on desertification, land degradation and drought repeatedly underlined the importance of integrating land restoration and the aim of land degradation neutrality into the global agenda for sustainable consumption and production, to be reflected from business operations to consumer behaviour. Also in this context, careful targeting of the COVID-19 recovery investments to include land restoration could combine economic opportunities with environmental sustainability.
48. In the light of the above, the General Assembly may wish to recognize the continued and growing attention paid by the international community to addressing desertification, land degradation and drought, and to underline the importance of related actions. The Assembly may also wish to promote the integration of land restoration into post-COVID-19 recovery efforts, with particular attention paid to improving the livelihoods of the poorest rural communities. Furthermore, the Assembly may wish to recognize the critical role that healthy land has in the global economy, and to call for measures to explore and promote consumption and production patterns that protect land and advance land degradation neutrality.


See also Documentation General Assembly 76 session ( second link above)