Other meetings & events

Drought resilience and biodiversity conservation are closely interlinked. Conservation efforts that protect and restore biodiversity help maintain ecosystem services, such as water retention and soil health, which are crucial for mitigating the impacts of drought. Healthy and diverse ecosystems can also withstand and recover from droughts more easily. Preserving biodiversity strengthens ecosystems’ natural ability to endure drought conditions and enhances long-term sustainability.  This webinar focuses on the interlinkages between drought risk management and biodiversity conservation. To kick off the webinar, a keynote will be delivered by Tristan Tyrrell, Programme Management Officer for Biodiversity, Climate Change and Dry and& Subhumid Lands at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The keynote presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with UNCCD National Focal Points and national experts from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, who will be sharing their country perspectives on the drought-biodiversity connection:  Nana Bolashvili, UNCCD Science and Technology Correspondent of Georgia, Arevik Hovsepyan, President of Country Water Partnership Armenia, Alice Savadyan, GWP CACENA Regional Council Member, and Dr. Arkadiy Tishkov, Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Head of the Biogeography Laboratory of the Institute of Geography of the RAS.  This webinar is co-organized by UNCCD, CBD and GWP under the umbrella of the UNCCD Community of Learning and Practice on Drought Management in Central and Eastern Europe. In English, with Russian interpretation. Register on Zoom

The Conference encompasses the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), the Eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, and the Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. It will include a high-level ministerial segment.COP 16 will be the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP 15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada.At COP 16, governments will be tasked with reviewing the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Parties to the Convention are expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. COP 16 will further develop the monitoring framework and advance resource mobilization for the Global Biodiversity Framework. Among other tasks, COP 16 is also due to finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources. Learn more.

Join us for the launch of a groundbreaking report, led by global gender expert Lorena Aguilar, showcasing 35 powerful case studies of women leading innovative drought resilience efforts in their local areas. Register here: https://unccd-int.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HiTabvUDQpSPGLfBKnvoag#/registration

Decision-makers and experts will review the progress made in the past decade and outline a path to translate drought policies into action around the world. The outcomes of the Conference will inform the negotiations at UNCCD COP16. Monday 30 September12:55 – 13:55 CETUNCCD’s Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on Drought – Results and perspectives from five continents | UNCCD IWG on DroughtGovernance in Action: Strategies for Improved Drought Risk Management | Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, UNCCD, GWP, Bahir Dar University Ethiopia, IUCNTowards actionable information to foster drought resilience – Lessons from across scales14:00 – 15:30 CETPlenary session on drought risk covernance: The regional, national and local challengesTuesday 1 October08:30 – 10:00 CETPlenary session on the need to turn drought policies into action12:25 – 13:25 CETUNCCD and IDMP communities of learning and practice: Collaborative approaches to drought management and resilience | UNCCD, GWP, WMO15:30 – 17:00 CETPlenary session on drought risk finance17:15 – 18:15 CETThe International Drought Resilience Observatory unveiled | IDRA, UNCCD, UNU-INWEH, World Bank Group, Yale CEAGlobal Report on the Economics of Drought – Benefits of proactive investments to improve drought readiness | GIZ, UNU-INWEHWednesday 2 October12:25– 13:25 CETThe Global Drought Atlas – A perspective on drought risks and resilience | UNCCD, JRC, CIMA, IVM-VU, UNU15:00– 18:00 CETHigh-level closing session: Turning drought resilience challenges into actionAccess the full programme here.Register for the online conference as a participant or as a journalist.

A high-level side event, hosted by Saudi Arabia on the margins of the UN General Assembly, will focus on the upcoming UNCCD COP16 in Riyadh and the importance of raising global efforts to address land degradation and drought and their social, environmental and economic impacts. From 1:15pm to 2:30pm in Conference Room 2 at UN Headquarters. Watch live on UN WebTV.