Other meetings & events

Tuesday 31 October 2017, 12:30-14:00 UNOG Library Events Room B. 135 Palais des Nations, Geneva  Special Event With The Winners Of Future Policy Award 2017 Desertification is one of today’s most serious environmental challenges. Every minute, we lose the equivalent of 30 football fields of soil to degradation. We urgently need to act. Can we empower young people at risk? Can we transform drylands, the most conflict-prone regions of the world? The Future Policy Awardees 2017 and renowned speakers show that we can. Through a compelling combination of a high-level discussion with distinguished experts, a multi-cultural performance, and an interactive dialogue with the audience, this special event shows how the destructive drama of desertification can become a constructive theatre of land restoration. This year, the Future Policy Award was organized by the World Future Council in partnership with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). A discussion with: Ousséni Diallo, President, Green Cross, Burkina Faso Atinkut Mezgebu Wubneh, Head of Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau, Tigray, Ethiopia Pradeep Monga, Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Alexandra Wandel, Director, Vice Chair of the Management Board, World Future Council Moderator: Rama Mani, Convenor, University of Oxford’s Enacting Global Transformation; Founder, Theatre of Transformation Academy; Councillor, World Future Council Performance by Theatre Transformation Academy Followed by a reception In collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, World Future Council, Green Cross International, University of Oxford’s Enacting Global Transformation Initiative and Theatre of Transformation Academy. Learn more about the Future Policy Award.

As part of the Ankara Initiative which was adopted during the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 12) held in Ankara in 2015, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of Türkiye will organize the “International Workshop on Middle East (Regional) Dust Sources and Their Impacts” in 23-25 October 2017 in Istanbul, Türkiye. The workshop aims to exchange information and share experience between scientists and related organizations so that they can better evaluate the Middle East dust sources and impacts in the scientific framework. The workshop will focus on; Dust sources and monitoring the changes on these sources over Middle East Region Dust-Climate interaction in the Middle East Dust forecast and modelling Monitoring and impacts of dust transport affecting the Middle East The abstract deadline submission is 28 July 2017.  

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 13 October as International Day for Disaster Reduction to promote a global culture of disaster reduction, including disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness. For 25 years, the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) has been a major global awareness event to recognize progress and encourage further efforts to build disaster resilient communities and nations. 

To showcase the achievements of desertification control in Inner Mongolia, the UNCCD organizes a field trip to the Kubuqi Desert during COP 13, on 10 September 2017. As a saying goes, “It’s better to see something once than to hear about it a hundred times.” Thirty years ago, the Kubuqi Desert, one of the largest in China, was an area severely affected by storms that blew uncontrollably over the vast expanses of sand. Today, tireless rehabilitation efforts, led by the Chinese government, business entities and local residents, have resulted in the restoration of more than 6 000 square kilometers of the Kubuqi Desert through afforestation. The implemented circular sustainable economic model combines ecosystem restoration, ecological husbandry, ecotourism, green industry and solar energy production, and has already benefited 102 000 local residents, lifting them out of poverty. The Kubuqi model sets an example of successful desertification control and ecosystem improvement based on effective government policies supported by private investment in the eco-industry and combined with market-oriented engagement of local farmers and herdsman. In Kubuqi, the meaning of “desert” has been redefined: flocks of sheep and cattle are grazing amidst solar panels that pump electricity into the power grid, plentiful local organic produce is supplied across China and the wonder of barren land turned into a fruitful garden attracts many visitors from afar.  On September 10, the trip participants will be able to enjoy the breathtaking sights of Kubuqi – the sweeping views, the tempting bounty of the new harvest and the unique nomadic culture of the local people.  For more information, please contact:  Ms. Jady Duan Phone: +86 (0) 10-57387397-39123 Mobile: +86 18504779332 Email: duanyu@elion.com.cn You can download the programme flyer and the registration form here.