The 17th Meeting of the UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI) will take place 2-4 May 2023 at the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany. The SPI serves as a bridge between science and policy in global efforts to address land degradation, desertification and drought. The SPI’s unique composition brings together 15 independent scientists, five science delegates representing the policy realties of each region, and five experts in practice drawn from implementing agencies and civil society. This dedicated team is currently working to provide scientific assessment leading to guidance on two important bottlenecks to success identified by Parties:

1. Developing guidance on pursuing Sustainable Land Use Systems can help UNCCD Parties optimize mix of land-based solutions they will pursue, with the aim of navigating the trade-offs among competing demands for land and achieving multiple benefits
2. Working to help better understand aridity trends, projections and impacts to help Parties plan for a future where even more land and even more people may well be impacted by desertification and drought

In this working meeting, the scientists hope to make progress on these two scientific assessments while also furthering collaboration with six other intergovernmental science bodies whose work is relevant to UNCCD priorities.