Other meetings & events

World Environment Day 2024 is focusing on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience. Hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, where UNCCD COP16 will also take place later this year, it will demonstrate the country's strong commitment to delivering solution to today's environmental crises. Recharged global action to protect and restore productive land has the power to boost livelihoods, support food security, build resilience to extreme weather and increase carbon storage. 

The Conference of Parties at its fifteenth session (UNCCD COP 15) established an Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought  during the triennium 2022 - 2024, tasked with identifying and evaluating global policy instruments and regional policy frameworks in the context of the national plans to effectively manage drought under the Convention, including supporting a shift from reactive to proactive drought management. Leading up to UNCCD COP16, the group will hold its sixth and final meeting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 3-6 June 2024 to address the following topics: Financing mechanisms for drought resilience; Setting of global target and global work programme for drought resilience Legally binding protocol or Amendment to the Convention Non-legally binding decisions, political declaration, or other kind of non-legally binding instruments outside the Convention

The Conference aims at accelerating efforts at global, regional and country level to improve the lives of young people around the world. It will bring together governments, social partners, youth and civil society organizations, private sector, foundations, academia, regional and multilateral organizations, and many more partners to: Stimulate innovative thinking and promote mutual learning on skills and job creation strategies for youth in the green and digital economies Broker concrete collaboration and partnerships among participants Mobilize political will and resources to scale up investment in decent jobs for youth, with a particular focus on disadvantaged youth groups Organizers recommend attendaning in person, but this year they are also introducing the possibility to engage virtually. The event is in English, with audio captions available in French and Spanish for selected sessions. Registration available via this link.  

On Thursday 23 May from 14:50 to 16:20 (GMT +8 h), join the international Drought Resilience Alliance at the Spanish Pavilion for the event "A coordinated approach towards drought resilience: the case of the IDRA" to discuss cross-border collaboration on drought management in the face of climate change. Other events: Tuesday 21 May 13:00-14:30 (GMT+8 hours): Best practices and drought management planning including drought impact mitigation The session will showcase best practices in drought management planning to support proactive, risk-based approaches. To facilitate planning and efficient implementation,. Organized by UNCCD, Government of Spain and Government of Indonesia in partnership with FAO, Deltares, French Water Agency, Aneta Group Wednesday 22 May 13:00-14:30 (GMT+8 hours): Making Progress toward Climate Resilience: elevating the urgency of drought resilience for the water sector Drought as seen in  major cities like Cape Town (South Africa), Chennai (India), and Sao Paulo (Brazil) are challenging technical, and financial capacities. The session will discuss how to adapt water systems and infrastructures to build drought resilience. Organized by  The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and AquaFed in partnership with World water Council and UNCCD Wednesday 22 May 08:30-10:00 (GMT+8 hours): Accelerating innovation in early warning systems: a call to action across all pillars Early Warning Systems (EWS) offer a vital line of defense against natural disasters, but ther are significant in coverage and effectiveness. The session will explore promising social and technological innovations and the role of science-based policies in advancing EWS. Organized by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in partnership with UNCCD, WMO, ADPC, CLS and Government of Egypt.

Land users are more likely to make investments when they have realistic expectations that they will benefit from the returns. Integrating land tenure considerations into land degradation neutrality (LDN) and land restoration policies, projects, and programmes can contribute to better land and water management and other regenerative practices that enhance food and water security, rural livelihoods, and climate action. The UNCCD-FAO joint initiative builds the experiences of partners at all scales during the 10 years of VGGT implementation and aims to ensure that tenure-responsive land management and restoration are actionable priorities that contribute to the global land agenda. Join us from 14:00-15:45 EST in the Preston Auditorium for an interactive session on integrating land tenure into sustainable land management, where we will present the results of national multi-stakeholder consultations to restore degraded land, boost climate resilience and improve local livelihoods.