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Vanessa Nakate is a UNCCD Land Hero from Uganda and a climate justice activist who founded the Youth for Future Africa, the Africa-based Rise Up Movement and One Million Activists Stories.
As part of the celebration for the 25th anniversary of the UN in Bonn, the City of Bonn and the Bonn International Non-Governmental Organizations (BINGO) organized a webinar “#UNBonn25: Global Action – Local Interaction” on 23 June, addressing the important linkages between landscapes, agriculture and fair consumption.
The Desertification and Drought Day Regional virtual event of Annex IV, including the Northern Mediterranean Country Parties of the UNCCD, was held online on Wednesday, 16 June 2021. The event, which started at 1 p.m. (CET), was moderated by Mr. Erkan Güler (Türkiye), Chair of Annex IV. The interventions during this session revolved around the theme of the 2021 Desertification and Drought Day: “Restoration. Land. Recovery”. As emphasized by Mr. Guler and UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary Ms. Tina Birmpili in their opening statements, the main objective of the event was to send out a strong message about land-centered solutions to build forward better. Ms. Birmpili also underlined the relevance of land degradation neutrality, saying, “We need to integrate land degradation neutrality initiatives and drought plans into international processes such as the Paris Agreement and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. We need global partnerships that allow us to share best practices, cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models”. During the event, representatives of six Annex IV Country Parties (Portugal, Slovenia, Israel, Italy, Hungary, and Türkiye)shared their national experience on the fight against land degradation and drought. The session ended with the closing remarks of Mr. Peter Molnar, Vice-Chair of Annex IV. For more details, the presentations are available here: Hungary | Israel | Italy | Portugal | Slovenia | Türkiye
The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 15.3.1, for which the UNCCD is the custodian agency, utilizes three sub-indicators: land cover, land productivity and carbon stock. These can be calculated from Earth Observation (EO) and other geospatial information in accordance with the Good Practice Guidance for SDG Indicator 15.3.1. After three years and the recent finalization of the GEO-LDN technology competition, GEO-LDN is: Ready to support countries reporting to the 15.3.1. SDG indicator using an innovative and user-oriented approach Ready to make land use planning more sustainable, evidence-based and transparent GEO-LDN involves all relevant stakeholders (data providers and data users) and welcomes active engagement from new stakeholders in an inclusive and open process Learn more about the Initiative GEO LDN home GEO LDN Initiative YouTube playlist
This year's Land for Life Award goes to Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, India, a unique concept of Shyam Sunder Jyani, Associate Professor for Sociology at in Rajasthan that relates a tree with a family, making it a green "family member." Placing a family at the cornerstone of society, the concept ensures the success of any social campaign. Familial Forestry means transferring the care of tree and environment in the family so that a tree becomes a part of the family’s consciousness. More than a million families from more than 15,000 villages of desert-prone northwest Rajasthan in over 2.5 million saplings have been planted in the past 15 years, with active participation of students and desert dwellers. "The journey of desertland Rajasthan towards a lush green Rajasthan has been a dream for me, and Familial Forestry is my dedicated endeavor in this direction." — ShyamSunder Jyani, founder of Familial Forestry. 2021 Land for Life Special Mention The special nomination has been awarded by the UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw to the Global Landscapes Forum in recognition of the exceptional work as one the world’s largest knowledge-led platforms on sustainable and inclusive landscapes. "Land degradation and desertification is a multi-faceted problem where single sectoral approaches won’t work. By working together, across sectors and regions we can restore the balance between people, animals, and the environment to sustain productivity in these ecosystems, while supporting the aspirations of the next generation. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with UNCCD to restore and protect the biodiversity and livelihoods of the world’s drylands." — Robert Nasi, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research, which leads GLF together in collaboration with co-founders UNEP, World Bank and Charter Members. The Land for Life Award ceremony will take place in August at the Eighth Kubuqi International Desert Forum in China. The award winner will also have an opportunity to present their work at the UNCCD Fifteenth Conference of the Parties UNCCD COP15. Learn more: Land for Life Award Land for Life Programme Familial Forestry Greater Sahel call to fund 5 new GLFx chapters
Countries assess the progress made in the fight against DLDD and map the way forward
