Stories

The UNCCD Land for Life Youth Social Media Activists Challenge semi finalists' result is out. 15 semi finalists were selected to be considered for the finals. Check here  to find out more about their activism.  The Challenge aims to recognize young people efforts in protecting natural resources and promoting environmental/ land resources justice. The selected finalists will be  recognized by UNCCD secretariat for their work and will be tasked to spread the UNCCD messages, in particular, creating awareness on land related issues among young people through social media. Currently, we are launching a public voting / polling to select the finalist candidates from 9 Dec - 22 December 2016. You are invited to have your say on who qualifies for the finals by casting their vote here :  http://woobox.com/6avg72. The public votes will be counted as part of the final decision of the winners. Related link: Land for Life programme

Russian national and one of the winners in the recently concluded Marketplace Writers Competition, Ms. Olga Sazonova paid a visit to the UNCCD Secretariat where she was welcomed by the Executive Secretary, Mrs. Monique Barbut.  Mrs. Barbut presented to Ms. Sazonova the prizes she won for placing third in the Competition with her story “Бесценные «услуги» природы” which is loosely translated in English as, “Invaluable services of nature.” Mr. Sazonova received a certificate, a UNCCD package and a cash prize for her efforts. In presenting the prizes, the Executive Secretary expressed hearty congratulations to Ms. Sazonova and thanked her for participating in the competition. She encouraged her to help promote the UNCCD in her own country and in particularly to do her part to educate Russian speaking peoples on the concept and importance of Land Degradation Neutrality. Mrs. Barbut recalled Ms. Sazonova’s academic achievements thus far, impressing upon her that she could use her skills in both English and Russian to help people have a clearer understanding of the issues of desertification, land degradation and drought. In her response, Ms. Sazonova thanked the Executive Secretary for the opportunity to meet with her and remarked how happy and excited she was to be among the winners of this international competition. She assured the Executive Secretary that she was wholly committed to the issues of sustainability; explain that it was one reason why she is in pursuit of a second Master’s in the subject. She promised not only to participate in future Marketplace competitions, but to spread the word among her friends and colleagues. She underlined that this was indeed a special occasion for her as she considers it a great honor and privilege to meet the Executive Secretary of the UNCCD. Attending the presentation were Ms. Yoon-kyoung Cho, who organized and administered the competition; Mr. Jijo Karthikeyan who provided technical assistance; and Dr. Richard Byron-Cox, Head of the Marketplace, who conceived the idea of the Marketplace Writers Competition. They too thanked Ms. Sazonova for participating in the completion, and in congratulating her reminded that the Capacity Building Marketplace is always open to the world free of cost!

The Government of Sierra Leone has successfully launched the National Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) target setting process. The launching ceremony took place at the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and Environment, in Freetown and was broadcast on National TV in three consecutive slots. The event was attended by officials from Government Ministries, Agencies, and Departments, including academic and research institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society, community-based organizations, and development partners. Mr. Mamoud Tawaralie, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and Environment gave the keynote address, while Mr. Barba B. Fortune, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and Environment, chaired the meeting. They affirmed their support to the LDN target setting process and undertook to provide leadership, support and facilitation. Noting the activities being undertaken by other Government Ministries, such as the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, The Environment Protection Agency, The National Protected Area Authority, and The National Minerals Agency, Mr. Tawaralie declared that they are working “to ensure that the country monitors the changing climatic patterns, which are becoming global phenomena, and are having a strong, negative impact on the country’s productive sector”. Through the LDN process, “Sierra Leone will also address the issues of food security, income equality, poverty reduction and job creation, as relevant co-benefits of the articulating LDN targets in this country”, stated Mr. Lahai S. Keita, UNCCD National Reporting Officer for the Ministry of Lands. Participants underlined how land degradation is curtailing farming productivity due to the loss of soil nutrients that are vital for crop growth. As a response to this challenge, representatives of the Sierra Leone National Federation of Farmers called for a partnership with mine workers to undertake joint revegetation programmes to achieve LDN in Sierra Leone. By embarking on this partnership, Sierra Leone is not only addressing one of the root causes driving land degradation in the country, but also including mining stakeholders in the solution to the problem. This topic will be addressed in more detail during upcoming LDN National Working Group sessions.

The Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to Climate Change (AAA) and the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund Project have joined forces to support land rehabilitation in Africa.  Within the project development framework of the LDN Fund, which is co-developed by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to responsible investing, with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Mirova has concluded a partnership agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Kingdom of Morocco related to the AAA Initiative. It aims at helping African smallholder farmers to restore degraded land and avoid further degradation of fertile land.    Related links: Press Release (EN) (595.78 KB) Press Release (FR) (474.75 KB)

The first national workshop on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) was recently held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. This event brought together participants from both national and local public administration institutions, scientific and civil society, the business community, and representatives of other key stakeholders. The purpose of the meeting was to officially launch the LDN target setting process with the mobilization of the high level of governmental representation and multi-stakeholder engagement in order to create a collaborative and synergetic framework for of the effective steering of the LDN target setting and subsequent implementation processes in the Republic of Moldova. Hosted by the State Hydrometeorlogical Service as the country's UNCCD national focal point institution, and actively facilitated by the Secretariat of the UNCCD, this workshop has become a key reference for the LDN process in this country. During the event, participants were familiarized with the land degradation neutrality target setting approach and the key steps to defining national voluntary LDN targets.  Mr. Mihail Roiby, director of the State Hydrometeorological Service and the UNCCD National Focal Point, highlighted that “the economic benefits of LDN in specific conditions in Moldova can advance the achievement of other Sustainable Development Goals, such as job creation and poverty reduction, food and water accessibility and climate change mitigation”. With this event, the National LDN Working Group has also now become operational. Thanks to the high level status and multi-stakeholders composition secured, the Republic of Moldova will ensure the effective mainstreaming of LDN into all relevant national development policies and plans. The Working Group now includes 20 experts and policy specialists from governmental organizations (line ministries, national land use planning, agriculture, environment and forestry, statistics), scientific institutions, the private sector (farmer organizations, land-based companies) and the civil society. The Republic of Moldova is now demonstrating how government leadership and meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement creates a collaborative and synergetic framework for the successful implementation of the LDN target setting process at country level, constituting a good example that other countries can follow.

In view of the implementation of the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme (LDN TSP), an inception workshop for countries that recently committed to set national voluntary LDN targets and did not participate in previous workshops, was organized on 14th-15th October 2016, prior to ‘The Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention’ (CRIC 15) at Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop was organized by the Global Mechanism and the Secretariat of the UNCCD and supported by bilateral and multilateral partners. The event brought together 22 participants, including UNCCD National Focal Points; LDN TSP country consultants as well as international partners. Read more: Download the workshop report The LDN Target Setting Programme