Media advisories
A new report from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), to be released Wednesday, 27 April 2022, offers both stark warnings and hundreds of practical ways to effect local, national and regional land and ecosystem restoration. UNCCD’s evidence-based flagship Global Land Outlook 2 (GLO2) report, five years in development with 21 partner organizations, and with over 1,000 references, is the most comprehensive consolidation of information on the topic ever assembled. It offers an overview of unprecedented breadth that includes new analyses of various future land scenarios and the potential contributions of land restoration investments to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, poverty reduction, human health and other key sustainable development goals. Report embargo: Wednesday, 27 April 2022 09:00 US EDT / 13:00 GMT / 14:00 UK Summer Time / 15:00 CEST (check local time here) GLO2 is being released shortly before the UNCCD’s 15th session of the Conference of Parties opens in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (COP15, 9-20 May, www.unccd.int/cop15). The first GLO edition in 2017 underscored the wide-ranging drivers, risks, and impacts of persistent land degradation, which have intensified considerably in the last five years – increasingly evident in the deterioration of human health and stable livelihoods. The new report sets out the rationale, enabling conditions, and diverse pathways by which countries and communities can design and implement a customized land restoration agenda. Advance access to the GLO2 report and a summary for decision makers, will be available next week. Advance embargoed interviews with report authors and officials are also available. A high-level virtual launch will be followed by a press conference Wednesday, 27 April 2022 The press conference will begin 27 April 2022 at 09:00 US EDT / 13:00 GMT / 14:00 UK Summer Time / 15:00 CEST (check local time here) You can find promotional material here. To register for the press conference, and to receive the advance embargoed media materials, please email the following to GLO2Launch@unccd.int Media organization First Name Last Name Position Email Telephone City Country A formal launch of GLO2 will take place Tuesday, 10 May 2022, during the high-level segment of the UNCCD’s 15th Conference of Parties (COP15, 9-20 May), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. COP15 programme, registration and other media information: https://www.unccd.int/cop15 About The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the global vision and voice for land. We unite governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world’s land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigating today’s impacts of land degradation and advancing tomorrow’s land stewardship in order to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner. Contacts: Terry Collins, +1-416-878-8712 (m), tc@tca.tc Wagaki Wischnewski, +49-228-815-2820; +49-173-268-7593; wwischnewski@unccd.int
Côte d’Ivoire hosts first major conference in 2022 to tackle the interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022. Heads of State, ministers and delegates from 196 countries are expected to attend this major event on the future of land management, alongside private sector, civil society, women and youth leaders. Journalists and media organizations worldwide are invited to attend the Conference to cover the meeting and participate in all events organized for the media. Online Registration | UNCCD is now open for media wishing to participate in person or virtually. The COP15 theme, ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity', is a call to action to ensure land, which is the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations. The Conference will focus on the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land between now and 2030 and tackling the growing impacts of droughts, sand and dust storms, and wildfires. COP15 will also take action on key policies that can enable action on restoration, particularly land rights, gender equality and the role of youth in future land stewardship. In addition to formal negotiations, COP15 will include a high-level segment on 9-10 May. UNCCD COP15 will be the first of the three Rio Conventions meetings to be held in 2022, with Biodiversity COP15 and Climate change COP27 convening later this year in Kunming, China and Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, respectively. The Convention unites governments, scientists, policymakers, the private sector and communities around a shared vision to restore and manage the world’s land. The last Conference of the Parties took place in New Delhi, India, in 2019. It was preceded by COP13, which took place in Ordos, China. Journalists are required to submit the following documentation to be considered for participation. Duly filled online application form An electronic passport photograph Official press card or a company photo identity card Letter of assignment to cover the event On request, the secretariat will provide accredited foreign journalists with a Note Verbale to secure visas from the Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire closest to them. Detailed information on COP15, including the provisional agenda, is available here: cop15. For more information and to register, contact: Wagaki Wischnewski, press@unccd.int About the UNCCD The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the global vision and voice for land. We unite governments, scientists, policymakers, private sector and communities around a shared vision and global action to restore and manage the world’s land for the sustainability of humanity and the planet. Much more than an international treaty signed by 197 parties, UNCCD is a multilateral commitment to mitigating today’s impacts of land degradation and advancing tomorrow’s land stewardship in order to provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people in an equitable and inclusive manner.
Desertification and Drought Day is celebrated every 17 June in every United Nations Member to keep the public informed about the state of the land, nationally and globally. Media are invited to cover the celebrations
MEDIA ADVISORY | AVIS AUX MÉDIAS The Great Green Wall Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030, the first comprehensive assessment of the status of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative (GGW) will be released on Monday, 7 September 2020 at a virtual ministerial meeting. In preparation for the event, and the press conference to be held immediately after the launch, the UNCCD secretariat is hosting a press briefing. The briefing will be conducted in English and French. Pre-registration is required. Embargoed documentation will be shared only with pre-registered journalists. When: Monday, 31 August 2020 at 15:00hrs Central European Time (13:00hrs UTC/GMT) Where: Virtual Webinar: Register here. Who: Prof. Abdoulaye Dia (TBC) Executive Secretary Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall Project Mr. Louis Perroy Partner Climatekos (report author) Ms. Inna Moja Lead Actor, Great Green Wall Film, UNCCD Land Ambassador Musician Fernando Meirelles (TBC) Producer Great Green Wall Moderator: Ms. Louise Baker Managing Director Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Background The Great Green Wall Implementation Status and Way Ahead to 2030 provides an overview of the progress made by countries to create a 15km wide and 8,000 km long green corridor stretching across Africa from Senegal to Djibouti. The report, prepared by an independent firm, Climatekos, will be released on Monday, 7 September 2020 at a virtual Ministerial meeting of the Member States of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall. Technical and financial partners will also participate. A virtual press conference with ministers to the share outcomes of the plans on the way forward will take place immediately following the ministerial meeting. The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel (GGW) reflects the will and commitment of the Heads of State and Government of the Sahelo-Saharan States to unite their efforts to tackle the challenges of climate change, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity. GGW was created in 2005 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso during the Cen-Sad Summit. The African Union endorsed it in 2007. Notes to Editors Registered journalists will have access to the two publications below in English or French. 1) Embargoed press release 2) Embargoed copy of the background note A pre-registration link will be circulated later for the virtual press conference to be held with the ministers on Monday, 7 September, for the report launch. For media information, contact: wwischnewski@unccd.int or kjimenez@unccd.int About the Great Green Wall, contact: cnordheim@unccd.int About the Great Green Wall An African-led initiative to transform the lives of 100 million of the poorest people on Earth by growing an 8,000 km corridor of trees and plants that will restore land, produce food, create jobs and promote peace. About the UNCCD The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is an international agreement on good land stewardship. Through partnerships, the Convention’s 197 Parties set up robust systems to manage land degradation and drought promptly and effectively. Good land stewardship based on a sound policy and science helps integrate and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilience to climate change and prevents biodiversity loss. Land also plays a key role in the prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, securing rural livelihoods and creating green jobs, supporting community resilience and maintaining the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services.
Land produces close to 25 per cent of the greenhouse gases, but we have never acted on it. For the first time, the IPCC will release its Special Report on Climate Change and Land Degradation tomorrow, Thursday, 8 August 2019, in Geneva.
The first global assessment of land degradation based on Earth observation data reported by governments will be presented and reviewed at the Seventeenth Session of the Committee for the Review of Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 17) to be held on 28-29 January 2019 in Georgetown, Guyana. The assessment, conducted by reporting countries using a harmonized approach, shows trends in land degradation between 2000 to 2015. It is based on data gathered from 145 of the 197 countries that are party to the Convention. This is the most extensive compilation of official data on this subject since world governments agreed to tackle the problem of land degradation in 1994, and then adopted a binding agreement – the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – in 1996. The assessment is expected to provide the baseline for assessing progress in the reduction or reversal of land degradation globally, going forward. It will also contribute to country efforts to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN), which is Sustainable Development Goal target 15.3. Journalists wishing to cover the Committee meeting in January are invited to register and obtain accreditation through this online portal: https://indico.un.org/event/27508/ The secretariat of the UNCCD jointly with Guyana Land and Soils Commission will organize a media training for journalists on Sunday, 28 January 2019. A few Caribbean journalists who meet the required criteria will be sponsored for the training and to cover the event. Interested journalists are reminded that the application deadline is this Friday, 21 December 2019. Detailed information is available here. Detailed information about CRIC17 is available via this link.
The first global assessment of land degradation based on Earth observation data reported by governments will be presented and reviewed at the Seventeenth Session of the Committee for the Review of Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 17) to be held on 28-29 January 2019 in Georgetown, Guyana. The assessment, conducted by reporting countries using a harmonized approach, shows trends in land degradation between 2000 to 2015. It is based on data gathered from 145 of the 197 countries that are party to the Convention. This is the most extensive compilation of official data on this subject since world governments agreed to tackle the problem of land degradation in 1994, and then adopted a binding agreement – the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – in 1996. The assessment is expected to provide the baseline for assessing progress in the reduction or reversal of land degradation globally, going forward. It will also contribute to country efforts to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN), which is Sustainable Development Goal target 15.3. Journalists wishing to cover the Committee meeting in January are invited to register and obtain accreditation through this online portal: https://indico.un.org/event/27508/ The secretariat of the UNCCD jointly with Guyana Land and Soils Commission will organize a media training for journalists on Sunday, 28 January 2019. A few Caribbean journalists who meet the required criteria will be sponsored for the training and to cover the event. Interested journalists are reminded that the application deadline is this Friday, 21 December 2019. Detailed information is available here. Detailed information about CRIC17 is available via this link.
The online registration process opens on 22 November 2018 and closes 10 January 2019. Bonn, Germany. For the first time since the adoption of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in 1994, world governments are meeting to consider the impact of land degradation on people and ecosystems, drawing on data gathered on the ground. The meeting will take place on 28-30 January 2019 in Georgetown, Guyana, during the Seventeenth Session of the Committee for the Review of Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 17). In 2009, scientists recommended, and governments agreed on the 11 indicators to use to measure land degradation. The proportion of the population living above the poverty line, which measures the impact on people, and the change in land cover, which measures the impact on the land, are mandatory. The indicator on land cover was refined further in 2014 and now measures land cover, soil organic content and net primary productivity. It was made one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators of Life on Land in 2015 because achieving it – known as achieving land degradation neutrality – will ensure there is stability in the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support life on Earth by 2030, and onwards. Further, CRIC 17 will consider, in depth, this and other emerging issues such as drought management, halting forced migration in degraded areas negatively impacted by climate change and progress in promoting gender equality, which are on the agenda of Conference of the Parties - the governing body of the Convention – that will meet in Fall 2019. CRIC 17 will be preceded by a two-day training some of these issues. Journalists and media organizations are welcome to attend and cover CRIC 17 and the press conferences planned during the meeting. Foreign and local journalists and media organizations require clearance from the UNCCD secretariat to cover the meeting, and are encouraged to review and apply for registration and accreditation as early as possible. The online registration process opens on 22 November 2019. Details about the requirements for participation are provided in the Press Invitation posted online on the CRIC 17 website. Regular updates and resources for participating journalists will be uploaded forthwith. Read More…..
Bonn, 8 June 2018 - Ahead of the World Day to Combat Desertification to be celebrated on Sunday, 17 June 2018, Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, has penned an opinion for dissemination by mainstream, alternative and social media, on this occasion. The opinion is available in all UN languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Download it for free to distribute through any broadcast media of your choice, preferably on or about 17 June. Weekly, fortnightly and monthly publishers can disseminate the opinion in the issue that coincides with this date. For inquiries, contact:wwischnewski@unccd.int