Stories

New Delhi, India – During World Day to Combat Desertification celebrations, Mr. Prakash Javedkar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, officially launched the logo of the upcoming COP 14 that will take place on 2-13 September 2019. The minister expressed a warm welcome to the global community and encouraged the active participation in the COP 14.  “India will lead the world in reversing land degradation and addressing desertification,’’ the minister stated. He emphasized the dedication of the Indian government under the leadership of ,Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improving soil health, restoring of degraded lands as means for increasing farmer’s income, building climate change resilience and improving water management with focus on most degraded and vulnerable land.  Ms. Renata Lok-Dessallien, the United Nations Resident Coordinator thanked the minister for India’s commitment to combating land degradation and the country's generosity in hosting the upcoming UNCCD COP. On behalf of UNCCD, Mr. Juan Carlos Mendoza, the Managing Director of Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, praised the strong commitment of India for championing the agenda for land as integral part of  achieving Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 15 on ‘’Life on Land,’’  During the event, high-level officials from key ministries, including the Ministry of Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Water, and the government’s policy think tank Niti Aayog presented India’s experience in integrated approaches to tackling land degradation through community participation.  India is strongly committed to  achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN) by 2030 and further reversing land degradation through restoration. A multi-stakeholder expert consultation brought together 100 experts from national and state-level government agencies, research organizations, UN agencies, NGOs and youth groups to discuss voluntary LDN targets and a legacy program to be launched during COP 14.  Read more: Official press-release  

Bonn, Germany – The Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD COP13 requested by the decisions 3/COP.13 and 14/COP.13 he Global Mechanism of the UNCCD to continue developing partnerships in support of the implementation of the Convention and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) as well as to promote gender responsive approaches in line with the Gender Action Plan. Moreover, country Parties have emphasized the need for support during the early stage of project preparation, for which limited sources of funding are available. This stage is critical for conceptualizing projects and programmes and engaging both national and international technical and financial partners to support their preparation and implementation. In 2018, the Global Mechanism started helping countries to design Land Degradation Neutrality Transformative Projects and Programmes (LDN TPPs) as follow-up to the LDN target setting process and the request of country Parties. The provision of technical support by a dedicated national consultant with additional technical support from the Global Mechanism helped to further develop a project idea into a sound concept note that could be used to tap into targeted funding sources, including climate finance. The Global Mechanism also facilitated dialogue at national level to identify implementing partners and strengthen partnerships to reinforce the capacities of national accredited institutions. As of 31 May 2019, more than twenty countries are benefitting from this support and twelve LDN TPP concept notes have already been prepared. The Global Mechanism is pleased to invite additional country Parties to express interest in receiving support for the development of LDN TPPs and translate country-specific LDN targets into concrete actions. The selection of applicants will be based on a set of criteria and availability of funds. Eligible countries are invited to express interest by 31 July 2019, with project design to start after the upcoming UNCCD COP14.  

Bonn, Germany – UNCCD met with the newly appointed Executive Director of The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) Mr. Zafar Makhmudov to discuss potential collaboration on regional projects within the UNCCD Drought Initiative as well as on programs that address sand and dust storms. Both organizations expressed interest in a more systematic cooperation to enhance implementation of the convention in five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan. CAREC was established in 2000 as an independent, non-political and non-for-profit international organization with regional mandate to assist the Central Asian governments, regional and international stakeholders in addressing environmental and sustainability challenges across Central Asian region and Afghanistan. CAREC is an UNCCD-accredited NGO. Read more: UNCCD and civil society organizations The Drought Initiative UNCCD Annex V

The Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Target Setting Project recently won the inaugural Impact Award of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The award recognizes the project’s innovative, science-based and participatory approach to support countries in setting targets to halt land degradation by 2030.  The IUCN Impact Award was designed to recognize the most successful or innovative project implemented by IUCN in 2018. An expert panel, consisting of members of IUCN’s leadership team, selected the LDN Target Setting Project for its support of national commitments worldwide to spearhead action on the ground. The LDN Target Setting Project supports countries in setting voluntary targets to achieve LDN by 2030 as a means to protect and restore land as well as contribute to food security and biodiversity conservation along with climate change mitigation and adaptation. The project is implemented by the IUCN Global Drylands Initiative and executed by the Global Mechanism of UNCCD. The project is a key step in advancing the UNCCD LDN Target Setting Programme that is implemented with the technical, institutional and financial support of some 20 international partners. The Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The Programme has mobilized almost USD 8 million from multiple bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, including Türkiye’s Ankara Initiative and the Republic of Korea’s Changwon Initiative. To date, over 120 countries have committed to setting voluntary LDN targets. Of these, 84 countries have already set their LDN targets, and 76 of them are directly supported by the GEF-funded LDN Target Setting Project.  Since its launch in 2016, the LDN Target Setting Project has generated strong momentum. By helping countries define measurable LDN targets, it has helped implement the UNCCD priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national level. This Impact Award recognises the LDN vision of the participating countries and the collaborative efforts to foster stronger international engagement and commitment for achieving this vision. The number and the spectrum of countries, institutions and partner agencies involved in LDN target setting along with high-level political commitment for LDN have helped to bring LDN into the mainstream sustainable development agenda. This creates a foundation for achieving target 15.3 of the SDGs and developing operational synergies with related SDGs, Rio Conventions and other initiatives both globally and nationally.  The recently declared 2021–2030 UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration offers an unprecedented opportunity to scale up actions to restore ecosystems, create jobs and address climate change. LDN can play a pivotal role in these efforts, and IUCN, together with the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD, are leading the way to inspire bold actions through the development of innovative and transformative projects and programmes to achieve LDN.  Read more: LDN Target Setting Programme IUCN Global Drylands Initiative LDN Target Setting Project Countries with voluntary LDN targets   Image: (c) FAO  

Kostyukovichi, Belarus – Peatlands occupy around 2.5 million ha in Belarus, only 900,000 of which still retain their natural state. Massive peat excavation, started during the Soviet period, resulted in about 300,000 ha drained to harvest peat deposits for fuel. Between 3 and 5 milion tons of peat are excavated each year, mainly for export.  Kostyukovichi is a small town in eastern Belarus, Mogilev Region, with about 16,000 inhabitants. In 1986, the town was considerably affected by Chernobyl disaster which led to massive migration. Today the region continues to face serious ecological problems – drained peatlands pose a high risk of fires which can carry radioactive contaminated soil, water and biomass to other locations.    “In 2002, there was a strong fire which we were fighting for almost a year to prevent adjacent forest fires and stop radioactive contaminated smog” explained a representative of Mogilevvodstroy, a regional water design company. In 2018, the company participated in a pilot project implemented in collaboration with the UNCCD and the Environment Ministry of Belarus with the support of the Changwon Initiative. Mogilevvodstroy carried out an environmental feasibility study and constructed the cascaded dams on old drainage channels to prevent water loss from the mire to adjacent river. As the result of the project, water level was raised about two meters. It will take hundreds of years to restore the peat levels, but rewetting of drained mires stops further mineralization of open dried peatlands and locks in carbon, preventing fires and allowing wetland biodiversity to come back. At the end of the project, experts will evaluate the benefits of restoration for carbon storage and biodiversity conservation.  The growing awareness of multiple benefits that wetlands provide for regulating micro-climate, biodiversity, human health and alternative sources of income for local populations, Belarus has been investing in restoration of degraded areas, building on proven positive experience and creating new legislation focused on protection and sustainable use of peatlands.   A draft of the new law of peatlands will be submitted for parliamentarian hearing in the summer of 2019. According to Mr. Korbut of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, the new law will regulate peat extraction and make rehabilitation of disturbed areas mandatory for peat producers. “We would like to demonstrate and share our national experience with other countries that face the problem of peatland restoration and the whole world,” added Mr. Korbut.    Restoration of at least 60 000 ha depleted peatlands and disturbed bogs by 2030 is a part of  of national voluntary target that the government of Belarus has set up to achieve land degradation neutrality (LDN). Joint national and international peatland restoration efforts in Belarus are expected to cut about three million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the 20 years period.  The Global Environmental Facility together with UNDP and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection has been supporting peatland restoration on 55 thousand ha in Belarus since 2006. A national database of peatlands has been established during of the project which also serves as a testing ground for using phytoamelioration methods to accelerate formation of mire type of biotope.  Learn more:  Peatland restoration project in the news The LDN programme

On Tuesday the 21st of May 2019, the UNCCD Secretariat, represented by its Capacity Building Marketplace (CBM) hosted students from the University of Cologne pursuing the Master in Environmental Sciences. The visitors were officially welcomed by UNCCD Deputy Executive Secretary, Dr. Pradeep Monga who also gave a general introduction to the UN system and to the UNCCD. During this visit, the students and their accompany Academic Manager, Stefan Grønnerud, were exposed to a three and half intense and inspiring session of formal presentations on many subjects, ranging from Land Degradation and Its impacts on the societies, and Sustainable Land Management, to the SDGs and Land Degradation Neutrality. They had an introduction to the role of UNCCD and to the CBM and interns’ experience within the UNCCD. They also had the opportunity to meet with several officials of the UNCCD working in various fields from top management to technical issues.