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“The UNCCD and its 195 country Parties work with a broad range of stakeholders not only to protect and sustainably manage land resources, but also to rehabilitate degraded land. On 20 and 21 March, the Bonn Challenge 2.0 – a high level summit – brought together governments and international organizations committed to achieving a clear vision: to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020. Of the 2 billion hectares with restoration potential, identified by the Bonn Challenge, 75% are considered mixed-use or “working” landscapes, in which people manage the land as a mosaic of multiple uses, increasing productivity in a sustainable manner while protecting natural capital for future generations. With the Bonn Challenge as a backdrop, the Global Mechanism (GM) of the UNCCD hosted two meetings which contributed to this process and also promoted relevant operational synergies between UNCCD priorities and those of relevant partner institutions working on forest and landscape restoration efforts at the country level: On 19 and 20 March, the GM hosted a meeting of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR), of which it is a member. This technical meeting brought together representatives from IUCN, UNEP, WRI, USDA Forest Service, the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs, IUFRO, FAO, UNEP-WCMC, CIFOR, the CBD secretariat, ICRAF, and the GM/UNCCD. It took stock of the work of GPFLR members to date, and discussed how this partnership could evolve in the near future in order to best mobilize the knowledge and expertise of its members in support of forest and landscape restoration activities on the ground. On 21 March, the GM also hosted a meeting of the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (FERI), bringing together representatives from the CBD secretariat, the Republic of Korea’s Forest Service, Biodiversity International, UNEP-WCMC, IUFRO, FAO, CIFOR, ICRAF, ITTO, IUCN, the GEF, WRI, and the GM/UNCCD. Following the official launch of FERI at the CBD COP 12 in Korea in October 2014, this was its first operational meeting, which further defined the involvement of relevant partner organizations and the scope of upcoming activities, including the organization of relevant capacity building workshops, the assessment of degradation and restoration potential at (sub)national level, and the provision and coordination of technical support.”
Les débats actuels sur les migrations internationales n'ont-ils pas oublié un point essentiel ? Le changement climatique est en train de saper la position des pauvres dans le monde en détruisant leurs ressources naturelles vitales et en leur enlevant la capacité à décider de leur propre destin. Les transferts monétaires et les savoirs-faire des migrants sont en train de devenir vitaux pour la survie de leurs communautés d'origine, mais ils sont aussi cruciaux pour la paix et la stabilité politique de nombreux pays d'émigration.
Have the migration debates erupting all over the world all missed a crucial point? Climate change is pulling the rug from under poor rural people’s feet; destroying their natural resources and taking away their ability to decide their own fate. Migrant remittances and skills are becoming vital for their survival, but also crucial for global peace and political stability in many countries.
Two of the greatest aspirations in life are to provide adequate food and shelter for our families. Will the proposed Sustainable Development Goals help all 9 billion of us to achieve these aspirations by 2050? All but four of the 17 goals are directly linked to the use of the land. It makes the proposed goal about the sustainable use of land resources, particularly vital — but it will require bold action to secure land rights, to turn from the current land use practices and to restore more degraded land for our use.
With so many of the world's 48 least developed countries (LDCs) at the centre of global security concerns – from Afghanistan to Central African Republic to Mali, Nigeria and Somalia – wealthier states would be wise to support the actions LDC politicians agreed to (pdf) at a meeting they held in Benin last week.
The solution to the very visible global problems of deforestation, desertification and food scarcity may be hiding in plain sight: the transformative ability to restore degraded land to productive use.