Stories

Moscow, Russia – More than 600 scientists from all over the world attended the Thematic Conference that commemorates the centennial of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Science to discuss land issues, climate change, urban transformation and the “One Belt – One Road” initiative. The session on land-based solutions in a changing environment featured the concept of land degradation neutrality (LDN) and its implementation in Central and Eastern Europe. The discussions also included state-of-the-art land cover analysis, research on the changes in organic carbon associated with 60 million hectares of abandoned land in the region and the debate over the potential correlation between migration and drought. One of the highlights of the Conference is the launch of the Science and Technology Center to Combat Desertification and Drought, named after the late Nikita Glazovskiy, one of the most influential environmental researchers of our time. The main mission of the Center is to provide scientific and methodological support for the implementation of national commitments of the Russian Federation to the UNCCD.  The Center is expected to broaden the scope of its work to include collaboration with other national and regional research institutions.  The outcomes of the Conference will have a direct relevance to the mission of UNCCD and the opening of the center will facilitate moving the research on addressing land degradation into action.  Learn more: Achieving land degradation neutrality Land and human security

New Delhi, India – A global outlook, released by UN Environment on the World Environment Day 2018, provides a comprehensive analysis of the world’s complex relationships with plastics. This year, the World Day is focused on beating plastic pollution under the theme: “If you can’t reuse it, refuse it!” While plastics have a myriad of irreplaceable uses in construction, medicine and food industries, the problem lies with how they  are produced and consumed, creating the need for sustainable alternatives and better recycling. The plastics that end up in landfills may take hundreds of years to decompose, releasing potential pollutants into the soil and water. The UN Environment report presents an array of measures to address plastic pollution, based on case studies from over 60 countries, and offers ways to rethink how the single-way plastics are manufactured, used and managed. Read more: http://worldenvironmentday.global

Ankara, Türkiye – The amount of soil carried by rivers in Türkiye has been reduced to 154 million tons this year from about 500 million tons per year back in the 1970s, thanks to the afforestation activities, changes of irrigation techniques in agricultural areas, improvement of rangeland and erosion control studies. The target is to reduce the number to 130 million tons in the next five years. In 2011, the project on preparing erosion risk maps and the development of sediment model has been implemented by the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion in collaboration with the University of Ankara Faculty of Agriculture. As part of the project, water erosion projections have been created by using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE).” To evaluate equation parameters quickly and efficiently, a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based software called Dynamic Erosion Model and Monitoring System (DEMIS has been developed in 2013. Following the development of the model, several parameters have been calculated: rainfall parameter (R-factor) in 2015, vegetation cover parameter (C-factor) in 2016, and soil erodibility parameter (K-factor) in 2017. With the help of DEMIS software, effects of rainfall, vegetation cover and soil-water protection factors on soil erosion resulting from water erosion have been monitored. A Water Erosion Map of Türkiye, produced using RUSLE, has been shared with related institutions, universities, and research institutions. The data set produced by the General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion will be used as a base in natural resource planning for various afforestation and erosion control projects that will take place in the future. 

On 14-15 May 2018, the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) convened an Expert Group Meeting on the Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG15) titled Life on Land. The Expert Group Meetings highlighted the key messages below, which together with their deliberations, are part of the input to be shared at the High Level Political Forum to be held in July 2018, where progress in the implementation of SDG 15 will be reviewed. The Expert Group Meeting took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States. The land degradation neutrality target was take up during the session on Land and Soils that also dealt with issues of forests and biological diversity. The session focused on the direct links between the Goal and poverty, jobs, migration, carbon, water and food security. The Expert Group Meeting, inter alia, acknowledged that land degradation should be given global priority particularly since global assessments of land degradation show that degradation is getting worse in some regions and is increasingly linked to food insecurity, vulnerability to climate change, poverty, conflicts and forced migrations. The Experts also agreed that impacts of land degradation on food security would affect mainly the poor, children and women. The impacts would also leave them more vulnerable to climate change. The impacts are likely to persist over several generations considering that the world’s poor are primarily young and rural. Further, the Experts agreed that by pursuing land degradation neutrality, the actors will accelerate the attainment of the other SDGs. They concurred that achieving land degradation neutrality is a response to the overall vision of leaving no-one behind, under the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. Furthermore, they argued that the land degradation neutrality target could also serve as an integrator of many of the Goals because it is directly linked to them. The meeting observed that the LDN Fund was the first finance mechanism of its kind. The Fund has attracted the private sector, which shows that sustainable land management is profitable and can deliver on multiple fronts. The meeting also highlighted that up to 120 countries are committed to the LDN Target setting programme, which is an indicator of substantial progress. The programme is being carried out through transformative and large-scale projects that can enable member states to achieve land degradation neutrality. The Expert Group Meeting also underlined that climate change is increasing the scope and duration of droughts. Therefore, to achieve SDG15, drought must be tackled to ensure countries are prepared and the ecosystems and communities affected by it are resilient. The session on Land and Soils brought together a wide range of experts; from civil society and UN entities, to academia, among them, Professor Edward Barbier (Department of Economics at Colorado State University, and Senior Scholar at the School of Global Environmental Sustainability),   Dr. Deborah Bossio (Lead Soil Scientist at The Nature Conservancy) and Professor Dan Pennock (Professor Emeritus at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan). Mr. Melchiade Bukuru, Chief of the UNCCD liaison office to the United Nations, moderated the panel. In his opening remarks, Bukuru said in 2030 the international community will take account of the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. But for this to be accomplished in just 12 years, he emphasized that there is an urgent need to identify the targets that can accelerate progress and integrate the achievement of the SDGs. He recalled that the General Assembly has acknowledged land degradation neutrality (SDG target 15.3) as an accelerator for the achievement of multiple SDGs, particularly ending poverty and hunger, tackling inequality, empowering women and stimulating economic growth. Bukuru also emphasised that degraded land, if recovered, would contribute to restoring natural resources. This has the potential to improve food security and nutrition in the affected countries, and in the process, also absorb some of the of carbon emissions responsible for climate change. On the first day, the Expert Group focused on the (slow) progress made towards achieving SDG 15 and its low profile relative to other SDGs. The discussion then turned quickly to the actions needed: integrated landscape approach, working across sectors, stakeholder involvement, progress on tenure/gender, spatial planning, targeted investments, the need for good indicators, etc. Bukuru intervened regularly to highlight the multiple benefits of the LDN approach, interlinkages with other SDGs, and the unique role of the UNCCD in building capacities at the national level (TSP). There was particular interest in the LDN fund and when the Convention will demonstrate the success of the LDN approach as an SDG accelerator and integrator. During the closing session, DESA advised participants to prepare key messages to the HLPF, which relate to the concrete actions that can be taken at Forum’s level. An issues document based on the notes of the meeting will now be drafted by DESA and circulated to the participants. The document will provide the background for a 3-hour session on SDG 15 that will take place on 13 July at the senior adviser level before consideration by the high level segment. The HLPF Ministerial outcome document will largely be negotiated before the HLPF convenes. Negotiations will be led by two co-chairs (ambassador-level), one each from the North and South. The messages in the HLPF outcome document will be driven by Member States. For more information, contact: Bukuru@un.org Click here to download the background note for discussion at the session. Read UNCCD inputs to HLPF here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=30022&nr=1237&menu=3170  

Tuesday, 22 May, is the International Day for Biological Diversity. This year’s theme is "Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity." 
 
The theme was chosen to mark the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and to highlight progress made in the achievement of its objectives.    UNCCD congratulates its sister convention on the 25 years of actions to safeguard biodiversity. Climate change, biological diversity, desertification, land degradation and drought are intricately related on the social, economic and environmental fronts.   Because these issues are closely linked, the secretariats of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the CBD and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) are engaged in collaborative actions to solve these challenges at all levels. Together we can create a better future!    Read more: Celebrations around the world Synergies among Rio conventions

Cairo, Egypt – A regional workshop on the reporting requirements under the new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework took place on 6–9 May, 2018, bringing together delegates from sixteen Arab States and representatives of international organizations to discuss the technical aspects of reporting. The workshop also provided a platform to address regional issues, defining a way forward on topics of drought, sand and dust storms, as well as the capacity-building needs of the region. The outcomes of the workshop received a positive feedback from participants, who encouraged similar initiatives in the future for better implementation of the Convention. The training concludes the series of regional events organized by the UNCCD to ensure a successful national reporting process. The workshop in Cairo was organized by the UNCCD secretariat, the League of Arab States, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development and the Global Mechanism of UNCCD in collaboration with the Un Environment and the Global Environment Facility. The representatives of  the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme also attended. Learn more: 2017-2018 reporting process Online reporting tutorials Sand and dust storms Achieving land degradation neutrality